Creamery  Butter 
on  the  Farm 


MCLAUGHLIN 


AGBiC.  PERT. 


MRS.  W.  J.  MCLAUGHLIN 


DIRECTORS  OF  THE 
BUTTER-MAKING  SERVICE 
DEPARTMENT  OF  THE 
MlNNETONNA  COMPANY 


EXPERT 
BUTTER- 
MAKERS 


MR.  W.  J.  MCLAUGHLIN 


Or    r^~ 





How  to  Make 

Creamery  Butter 

on  the  Farm 

v.\J;-.,;  '      by       :  :-..">• 

(MR,  and  MRS) 
WM.  J.  MCLAUGHLIN 


This  book  belongs  in  your 
working  library 

It  will  prove  itself  one  of  the  most  valuable 

books  you  ever  had,  if  studied  carefully, 

referred  to  often  and  followed  closely 

in  its  instructions.     This  book  and 

the  Minnetonna  Home  Creamery 

enable  you  to  apply  to  home 

buttermaking  the    scientific 

principles   and   processes 

that  are  used  in  the  most 

modern  creameries 


Dept, 


Copyright.  1915 

by 
The  Minnetonna  Company 


*  I*  J  \ 


THE  LAKELAND  PRESS 
MINNEAPOLIS.    MINN..    U.S.A. 


To  the  farmer  that  it  may  help  him 
increase  his  income  from  the  dairy 
department  of  his  business  and — 

To  the  farmer's  wife  or  daughter  that 
it  may  lessen  her  labor  and  increase  her 
efficiency  as  a  buttermaker,  this  book  is 
respectfully  dedicated. 


335452 


Table  of  Contents 

CHAPTER         I.  Why  It  Pays  to  Make  Your  Cream 

Into  Butter  on  the  Farm 9 

CHAPTER       II.  The    Essential    Things    in    Making 

Good  Butter 16 

CHAPTER  III.  Handling  the  Milk  and  Cream....   19 

CHAPTER     IV.  Separating  the  Cream 23 

CHAPTER       V.  The  Babcock  Test 27 

CHAPTER     VI.  Ripening  the  Cream 34 

CHAPTER   VII.  Testing  Cream  for  Acidity 37 

CHAPTER  VIII.  Starters 42 

CHAPTER     IX.  Butter  Color   47 

CHAPTER       X.  Churning 49 

CHAPTER  XL  Washing,  Working,  Salting,  Pack- 
ing    53 

CHAPTER  XII.  Buttermaking    Troubles    and    Their 

Causes 59 

CHAPTER  XIII.  The  Care  and  Operation  of  the  Min- 

netonna  Home  Creamery 62 

CHAPTER  XIV.  How  to  Make  Cottage  Cheese 67 

CHAPTER  XV.  Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  to  Pro- 
duce the  Largest  and  Richest  Milk 
Yields  69 

CHAPTER  XVI.  A  Plan  That  Adds  $13  to  $24  to 
Your  Profits  From  Each  Cow  Each 
Year  .  88 


Preface 

IT  HAS  taken  a  long  time  for  some  branches  of 
human  activity  to  come  under  the  regenerating 
influence  of  science.  But  once  she  takes  hold  of 
a  proposition,  science  works  rapidly — and  the  cruder 
and  more  primitive  the  subject  she  studies,  the  more 
rapidly  she  works  and  the  more  wonderful  are  the 
improvements  she  makes. 

It  is  remarkable  indeed,  and  regrettable,  that  so  vital 
a  human  activity  as  farming,  an  industry  upon  which 
the  very  existence  of  the  human  race  depends,  should 
have  been  so  long  in  coming  out  of  the  darkness  of 
primitive  ideas  and  ideals  and  coming  into  the  light  of 
modern  science.  It  was  only  within  the  last  half  cen- 
tury that  a  real  beginning  was  made  in  the  science  of 
agriculture — and  the  real  progress  in  better  farming 
methods  has  been  made  in  the  last  quarter  century. 

Buttermaking,  logically  a  farm  activity,  began  to 
benefit  by  the  application  of  scientific  principles  only 
within  the  last  twenty  years  or  so.  You  need  only 
compare  the  efficiency  and  rapidity  of  the  buttermak- 
ing  equipment  in  the  modern  creamery  to  the  slow 
and  laborious  old  fashioned  farm  churn  to  realize  what 
science  has  done  in  the  art  of  buttermaking.  A  com- 
parison of  the  quality  of  butter  produced  by  the  two 
methods  also  makes  a  strong  case  for  the  modern  way 
of  making  butter. 

But  the  farmer  has  not  profited  as  he  should  by  the 
wonderful  improvements  in  the  method  of  buttermak- 
ing. The  rapid  development  of  scientific  principles  in 
this  industry  has  been  limited  to  a  type  of  machine 
too  large  and  too  expensive  for  the  individual  farm 
use.  The  farmer  was  left  with  an  inefficient  barrel 
churn  that  gave  him  but  little  chance  to  apply  scien- 
tific principles  and  processes  to  buttermaking  even  if 
he  was  familiar  with  them. 


6        How  ca  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

True,  the  perfection  of  these  large,  efficient  butter- 
making  outfits  has  made  possible  the  establishment  of 
centralizers  and  creameries  to  which  farmers  can  send 
their  cream  to  be  made  into  butter  and  share  in  the 
proceeds.  But  the  big  expenses  of  running  such  large 
butter  factories  have  to  be  paid  out  of  the  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  the  butter,  whether  the  plant  is  a  pri- 
vate enterprise  or  a  co-operative  one.  We  have  man- 
aged such  creameries  and  we  know  how  much  it  costs 
to  run  one.  We  know  that 'this  cost  takes  a  big 
chunk  out  of  the  income  the  farmer  should  get  from 
his  dairy  herd,  and  could  get  if  he  could  buy  a  scien- 
tific buttermaking  machine  suitable  to  his  needs  and 
to  his  pocketbook  and  could  acquire  the  knowledge  of 
the  methods  that  would  enable  him  to  make  butter  of 
the  highest  quality  in  that  machine. 

The  Minnetonna  Company  •  has  solved  the  first 
problem — they  have  furnished  the  machine.  We  have 
attempted  to  supply,  in  this  book,  the  second  req- 
uisite— the  "know  how."  We  have  endeavored  to 
put  into  plain,  practical,  easy-to-follow  directions,  the 
essential  scientific  buttermaking  knowledge  that  we 
have  acquired  in  our  quarter-century  experience  as 
buttermakers  and  dairy  experts. 

If  this  book  helps  any  of  the  farmers  who  receive  it 
to  increase  their  net  cash  income  from  their  cows  by 
enabling  them  to  make  their  cream  into  high-grade 
butter  at  home,  or  shows  farmers  who  are  already 
making  butter  how  to  make  better  and  more  profitable 
butter,  with  less  labor,  or  encourages  farmers  who 
have  a  few  or  no  cows  to  open  up  an  entirely  new 
source  of  income  by  starting  a  neighborhood  cream- 
ery, we  shall  feel  amply  repaid  for  the  time  and  labor 
spent  in  preparing  this  volume. 

We  shall  also  be  glad  to  have  any  reader  ask  us  for 
further  explanation  of  any  part  that  is  not  perfectly 
clear,  or  to  ask  us  for  help  in  solving  any  buttermak- 
ing problem.  „  A 

THE  AUTHORS. 


The  McLaughlins— Buttermakers 

MR.  McLAUGHLIN  was  born  and  raised  on 
a  farm.  Early  in  life  he  took  an  interest  in 
dairying.  He  studied  breeding  and  feeding 
and  their  relation  to  milk  and  butterfat  production. 
His  interest  in  these  subjects  soon  led  to  an  interest 
in  buttermaking  and  cheesemaking  because  it  soon  be- 
comes evident  to  the  farmer  who  gives  any  thought 
and  study  to  his  business  that  the  most  profit  can  be 
made  from  his  cows  by  selling  their  milk  as  a  finished 
product — butter  or  cheese — instead  of  in  the  raw  state 
— milk  or  cream. 

Mr.  McLaughlin  has  been  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  butter,  cheese  and  condensed  milk  for  over  24 
years.  He  originated  the  first  exhaust  pasteurizer 
heater,  and  also  the  first  salt  test  used  in  Minnesota. 

Mrs.  McLaughlin  took  a  keen  interest  in  Mr.  Mc- 
Laughlin's  work  from  the  very  day  of  her  marriage ;  in 
fact,  being  a  country  girl,  she  had  been  making  but- 
ter for  some  time  on  her  father's  farm  and  liked  the 
work.  For  over  twelve  years  she  has  been  as  active 
as  Mr.  McLaughlin  in  the  buttermaking  business.  For 
many  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McLaughlin  were  joint  man- 
agers of  the  Elgin  Co-operative  Creamery  at  Elgin, 
Minn.  They  have  both  attended  the  Dairy  School  at 
the  University  of  Minnesota  and  are  in  great  demand 
as  speakers  at  buttermakers'  conventions,  Farmers' 
clubs,  etc. 

It  has  always  been  Mrs.  McLaughlin's  contention 
that  better  butter  could  be  made  in  the  home  dairy 

7 


8  The  McLaughlins — Buttermakers 

than  in  a  big  creamery.  She  has  proven  this  time  and 
time  again  and  gives  the  reason  why  this  is  so  in  the 
chapter  "Why  it  pays  to  Make  Cream  into  Butter 
on  the  Farm." 

Prizes  and  High  Scores  Made  by 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  J.  McLaughlin. 

SCORE 
First — Minnesota  Dairyman  and  Livestock  Association, 

Northfield,  Minn.,  Jan.  21,  1912 95 

Second — Minnesota  State  Fair,  Hamline,  Minn.,  Sept., 

1912   . 95 

Third — North  Iowa  Fair,  Mason  City,  Iowa,  Sept.   18, 

1912  96.50 

First — Six  months'  Scoring  Contests,  St.  Paul,  Minn., 

June  12,  1913   95 

Second— Interstate  Scoring  Contests,  Mason  City,  Iowa, 

Sept.  18,  1913  95 

First — Minnesota     Buttermakers'    Annual    Convention, 

2nd  District,  Wadena,  Minn.,  Dec.  12,  1913 93.33 

First — Wisconsin  State  Fair,  Milwaukee,  Wis.  (Over  all 

classes  in  complimentary  Scores) 95.63 

National  Creamery  Buttermakers'  Association,  Chicago, 

Nov.  1,  1911   95 

National  Buttermakers'  Association,  Chicago,  Oct.  29, 

1912   95.16 

International   Dairy   Show,   Milwaukee,   Wis.,   Oct.   30, 

1911    94.86 

International   Dairy   Show,   Milwaukee,   Wis.,   Oct.   30, 

1912    96 

National,  International,   Interstate  and  State  Contests 

for  year  1913 94.85 

(The  highest  over  any  buttermaker  in  the  United  States 

making  butter  from  hand  separated  cream.) 

Third— Interstate  Fair,  Oct.,  1912 96.50 

North  Iowa  Fair,  1911 94.50 

North  Iowa  Fair,  1911 94.33 

Minnesota  Butter  and  Cheesemakers'  Association 93 

Minnesota  Butter  and  Cheesemakers'  Association 93.75 

Iowa  Fair,  Mason  City,  Iowa,  1912 95 

International  Dairy  Show   1912 93.66 

National  Dairy  Show   94.50 

First— Second  District  at  State  Fair,  1912 95 

Second— Wadena    93.50 


CHAPTER  I. 

Why  it  Pays  to  Make  Your  Cream 
Into  Butter  on  the  Farm 

THERE  are   at  least  three  different  sources  of 
extra  profit  opened  up  to  you  when  you  make 
your  cream  into  butter  at  home  by  the  Minne- 
tonna  method. 

1.  The    difference    between    butter-fat    in    cream 
prices  and  high-grade  butter  prices;  the  "over-run" 
alone  in  butter-making  makes  this  difference  at  least 
25%,  as  explained  in  Chapter  X. 

2.  The  buttermilk  that  you  are  enabled  to  keep  is 
worth  many  dollars  to  you  as  a  feed  for  hogs,  if  you 
do  not  sell  it. 

3.  The  saving  in  the  expense  of  hauling  your  milk 
or  cream  to  the  station  or  creamery.     Many  farmers 
have  figured  that  this  hauling  costs  them  $1.00  to 
$2.00  a  day. 

The  "Over-run." 

The  "over-run"  in  butter-making  is  fully  explained 
in  Chapter  X.  Good  butter  should  contain  20%  of 
ingredients  other  than  pure  butter-fat,  such  as  mois- 
ture, salt,  etc.  These  items  are  necessary  to  the  flavor 
and  keeping  quality  of  the  butter,  but  they  cost  you 
practically  nothing.  Yet  you  get  butter  prices  for 
them.  Eighty  pounds  of  butter-fat  makes  100  pounds 

9 


10      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

of  butter.  Sell  your  cream  and  you  get  paid  only  for 
80  pounds.  Make  good  butter  and  sell  it  and  get  paid 
for  100  pounds,  or  25%  more,  besides  getting  more  per 
pound. 

The  Buttermilk. 

The  extra  money  that  you  can  pocket  for  your  but- 
termilk will  amount  to  a  snug  little  sum  in  the  course 
of  a  year.  Several  of  our  friends  have  written  us  that 
they  can  easily  sell  their  buttermilk  at  3c  to  4c  a  quart, 
sometimes  more.  This  fact  at  least  proves  the  value 
of  the  buttermilk  that  you  are  throwing  away  when 
you  sell  your  cream.  Even  if  you  do  not  sell  it  as 
buttermilk,  you  can  sell  it  for  even  more  as  hog  meat. 
We  need  not  discuss  the  merits  of  buttermilk  as  a 
feed  for  hogs — they  are  self-evident. 

You  Save  the  Cost  of  Hauling  Cream. 

Perhaps  you  don't  realize  how  large  an  item  is  the 
expense  of  hauling  the  cream  to  the  creamery  or  ship- 
ping station.  You  know  that  your  time  and  labor  are 
worth  money — so  much  per  hour.  The  time  that  you 
or  your  help  spend  on  unnecessary  things  means  just 
so  much  lost  money.  It  is  not  necessary  to  make 
nearly  so  many  trips  to  town  when  you  are  manufac- 
turing butter  at  home  and  shipping  the  finished  prod- 
uct instead  of  the  raw  material.  If  you  will  figure  up 
the  cost  of  each  trip  to  town  with  your  wagon,  we 
believe  that  you'll  find,  as  many  other  farmers  have, 
that  it  is  somewhere  between  $1.00  and  $2.00  per  trip 
— maybe  more  if  your  farm  is  far  out.  If  you  are  mak- 
ing and  shipping  butter  you  need  make  only  one-half 
to  one-fourth  as  many  trips  as  you  do  with  milk  or 
cream.  It  is  easy  to  calculate  your  savings  in  hauling 


Why  It  Pays  to  Make  Butter  on  the  Farm         11 

expenses  for  a  year,  and  we  daresay  that  the  figure 
will  open  your  eyes. 

You  Pocket  Middleman's  Profit. 

You  know  that  there  is  really  something  to  this  idea 
about  selling  direct  from  the  producer  to  the  con- 
sumer, cutting  out  the  middleman's  rakeoff.  In  a 
great  many  lines  it  has  meant  a  great  deal  to  both  the 
producer  and  the  consumer — in  the  farming  business 
perhaps  more  than  any  other.  Why  not  carry  the 
idea  to  the  dairy  end  of  your  business,  make  your 
butter  at  home  and  ship  direct  to  the  consumer  or 
retail  distributer  and  get  a  price  that  includes  the  cost 
of  manufacturing  in  the  creamery  or  centralizer,  the 
commission  man's  profit,  the  wholesaler's  profit,  and 
something  of  the  carrying  profit  by  railroad  or  ex- 
press? Add  up  these  various  profits  and  you  have  a 
pretty  neat  sum,  often  from  5c  to  lOc  on  each  pound. 

You  Pocket  Creamery  Manufacturing  Costs. 

The  manufacturing  costs  in  a  big  creamery,  whether 
it  is  a  co-operative  creamery  or  a  centralizer,  is  an- 
other very  important  consideration.  Take  the  co-op- 
erative creamery  for  instance.  You  get  more  money 
for  your  cream  in  that  enterprise  than  you  do  from 
the  city  centralizers  or  commission  men.  But  look  at 
what  it  costs  to  run  the  creamery — the  salary  of  a  but- 
termaker,  the  interest  and  depreciation  on  an  invest- 
ment of  about  $5,000  worth  of  building  and  machinery, 
a  high  rate  of  insurance,  power  and  upkeep,  etc.  Out 
of  your  cream  check  has  to  come  your  proportion  of 
the  sum  total  of  these  expenses. 


12      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

Get  Premium  Prices  for  Butter. 

Now  there  is  still  another  very  interesting  feature 
about  this  home  buttermaking  business.  The  minute 
you  start  making  your  cream  into  good  clean  butter 
right  on  your  farm,  you  at  once  enjoy  a  big  compet- 
ing advantage  over  the  big  creamery  or  centralizer. 
That  advantage  of  yours  comes  from  this  fact : 

All  sorts  of  cream  goes  to  the  creamery  or  cen- 
tralizer, some  good,  some  not  so  good,  some  not  even 
clean.  It  all  goes  into  one  vat.  The  poor  cream  pulls 
down  the  quality  of  the  whole  batch  and  the  butter 
turned  out  is  not  as  good  as  it  might  be.  Yet  every 
farmer  is  paid  the  same  price  for  the  butterfat  con- 
tent of  his  cream.  If  you  have  pure,  clean,  sweet 
cream,  you  get  no  more  for  it  than  the  fellow  whose 
cream  is  not  so  good. 

But  look  here.  With  that  pure,  sweet  cream  of 
yours  you  can  easily  make  the  highest  grade  butter  at 
home  by  the  Minnetonna  method.  For  such  butter 
you  can  get  the  top  market  prices  and  even  more. 
Many  Minnetonna  Home  creamery  owners  write  that 
they  get  from  2c  to  lOc  a  pound  more  than  regular 
market  prices  for  their  butter. 

Good  "Dairy  Butter"  Preferred. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  many  folks  prefer  "dairy"  or 
home  creamery  butter,  when  it  is  made  right  and  un- 
der sanitary  conditions.  We  make  this  statement  only 
after  thorough  investigation.  You  may  happen  to 
know  some  people  who  shake  their  heads  when  you 
mention  dairy  butter,  but  that's  because  they've  had 
experience  with  the  wrong  kind.  If  you  were  making 
Minnetonna  Home  Creamery  butter  by  our  practical 


Why  It  Pays  to  Make  Butter  on  the  Farm         13 

methods,  you  would  only  have  to  let  them  sample  it 
to  change  their  notions.  They'd  be  pleasantly  sur- 
prised. 

Another  thing  we  discovered  in  our  investigation — 
one  of  the  reasons  why  good  dairy  butter  brings 
higher  prices :  Quite  a  number  of  women  have  the 
idea  that  "dairy"  or  home  creamery  butter  lasts  longer 
— goes  further  on  the  table,  especially  when  it  is  put 
up  in  jars. 

Big  Market  for  Quality  Butter. 

There  is  always  good  market  for  highest  quality 
butter,  the  kind  made  by  the  Minnetonna  method. 
Most  of  our  customers  soon  find  that  they  can  sell 
more  than  they  can  make  in  their  own  neighborhood 
or  at  the  stores  in  nearby  towns.  Besides,  there  are 
markets  in  all  good  sized  towns  and  cities,  many  of 
which  are  easily  reached  from  your  place  by  parcel 
post  or  express.  You  can  get  in  touch  with  the  con- 
sumers through  the  post  office,  express  companies  or 
small  ads  inserted  in  city  newspapers.  We  will  help 
you  in  finding  buyers  for  your  butter  so  you  need  not 
worry  on  that  score.  There  is  so  little  of  the  real  Al 
butter  to  be  had  that  it  quickly  finds  a  market  at  the 
highest  market  quotations  or  better. 

Why  the  Old  Time  Farm  Churn  Fails. 

A  letter  from  the  Potter  Casey  Co.,  of  Aitkin,  Minn., 
after  telling  how  a  farmer  increased  his  net  cash  in- 
come 30%  by  making  his  cream  into  butter  by  the 
Minnetonna  method  reads  as  follows : 

"Yes"  some  one  says,  "before  the  creamery  came  in 
we  used  to  make  butter  and  it  was  always  hard  to 
sell.  The  stores  didn't  care  whether  they  took  it  or 
not  and  they  would  never  pay  what  it  was  worth/' 


14      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

"The  same  kind  of  butter  still  comes  to  the  store. 
Over-salted,  underworked,  worked  too  much,  oily- 
people  won't  buy  it  to  eat,  so  we  pack  it  in  tubs  and 
send  it  to  the  renovating  factory." 

Making  good  butter  with  an  ordinary  churn  is  a 
fine  art  known  to  only  a  few  people,  and  they  get  the 
top  price  for  all  they  can  make.  The  market  for  good 
butter  is  as  steady  as  the  market  for  cream. 

With  the  Minnetonna  Home  Creamery  and  Minne- 
tonna  Methods,  anyone  can  make  creamery  butter, 
and  save  that  30%  which  he  is  losing  now. 

If  You  Have  Only  a  Few  Cows, 

there  are  two  plans  by  which  you  can  not  only  get 
more  money  for  the  little  cream  you  now  handle,  but 
also  open  up  an  entirely  new  source  of  income. 

One  plan  is  to  buy  your  neighbors'  cream  and  make 
it  into  butter  together  with  your  own  cream.  Many 
owners  of  Minnetonnas  are  adding  tidy  sums  to  their 
income  in  this  way. 

Paul  Whitebread  of  Wapwallopen,  Pa.,  writes  that 
he  can  pay  his  neighbors  higher  prices  for  their  cream 
than  the  co-operative  creameries  and  still  make  a  good 
profit  on  it.  Why? 

There  are  at  least  three  reasons,  the  same  three  rea- 
sons that  enable  you  to  make  more  profit  on  your 
cream  by  making  it  into  butter  at  home,  as  already 
given. 

You  surely  would  have  little  trouble  buying  your 
neighbors'  cream,  especially  if  you  offered  them  a  lit- 
tle more  than  the  creamery  or  cream  buyers.  You  can 
also  show  them  how  they  save  time,  trouble  and  labor 
costs  in  hauling  their  cream,  when  they  sell  to  you. 


Why  It  Pays  to  Make  Butter  on  the  Farm         15 

Neighborhood  Creamery. 

Another  way  to  make  the  Minnetonna  profitable  to 
you,  no  matter  how  little  cream  you  have  to  sell,  is  to 
start  a  neighborhood  or  community  creamery,  run- 
ning it  on  the  same  plan  that  the  large  co-operative 
creameries  are  run.  Get  your  neighbors  to  join  you  in 
sharing  the  costs,  interest  and  depreciation  on  a  Min- 
netonna Home  Creamery.  Suggest  that  you  or  who- 
ever operates  the  machine  be  paid  for  their  time  and 
labor,  the  same  as  a  co-operative  creamery  pays  a  sal- 
ary to  its  buttermaker.  Then  each  member  will  be 
paid  his  share  from  the  sale  of  the  butter  according  to 
the  amount  of  cream  he  has  brought  in.  If  you  do 
not  clearly  understand  this  plan  on  which  co-operative 
creameries  are  managed,  we  shall  be  glad  to  explain 
it  further. 

The  neighborhood  creamery  idea  seems  to  be 
spreading  all  over  the  country.  It  has  been  mentioned 
again  and  again  in  letters  that  come  to  our  office. 
Here,  for  instance,  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  signed 
by  the  dairy  husbandman  in  the  employ  of  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Animal  Hus- 
bandry, at  Auburn,  Alabama. 

"We  have  five  small  creameries  in  Alabama  and  a 
number  of  localities  that  wish  to  have  a  centrally  lo- 
cated farmer  buy  a  small  engine  and  churn  and  churn 
the  cream  for  the  neighborhood.  For  this  purpose  I 
think  your  outfit  would  be  very  well  suited." 

The  expenses  of  a  small  neighborhood  creamery  are 
much  less  than  those  of  a  large  creamery,  even  in  pro- 
portion to  the  amount  of  cream  and  butter  handled. 
The  profits  to  the  members  of  such  a  community 
creamery  are  much  larger. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Essential  Things  in  Making 
Good  Butter 

THE  making  of  high-grade  butter — the  kind  of 
butter   that   gets   premium   prices — begins   at 
the  cow,  the  source  of  the  raw  material  from 
which  the  butter  is  manufactured. 

The  way  a  cow  is  fed  and  cared  for  makes  a  very 
noticeable  and  important  effect  upon  the  flavor  of  her 
milk,  as  well  as  upon  its  quantity  and  richness  in  but- 
terfat.  The  flavor  of  butter  depends  upon  the  flavor 
of  cream  from  which  it  is  made.  Flavor  is  the  most 
important  item  in  judging  butter,  and  determines  more 
than  anything  else  how  much  you  get  for  your  product. 

In  Chapter  XIV  you  will  find  some  very  interesting 
and  very  valuable  information  about  the  care  and  feed- 
ing of  cows.  Don't  fail  to  read  that  chapter. 

The  next  step  in  good  buttermaking  is  the  handling 
of  the  milk  and  the  cream  after  it  is  separated.  Many 
things  can  happen  to  the  milk  from  the  time  it  leaves 
the  cows  until  it  is  made  into  butter,  that  greatly  af- 
fect its  flavor,  cleanliness  or  quality.  In  Chapter  III 
are  given  some  pointers  on  the  selection  and  care  of 
milk  or  cream  intended  for  buttermaking. 

Separating  the  cream  from  the  milk  and  the  opera- 
tion of  separators  have  a  relation  to  scientific  butter- 

16 


No.  $A  Minnetonna  Home  Creamery.  Churning  ca- 
pacity, with  barrel  half  full,  12  gallons.  Working  ca- 
pacity, 3  to  25  pounds.  Has  power  attachment  for  belting 
to  your  gasoline  engine. 


No.  sC  Minnetonna  Home  Creamery,  with  part  of  side 
and  one  end  cut  away  to  shozv  the  position  of  shelf  and 
working  roll  inside  of  ALL  Minnetonnas.  Churning 
capacity  (barrel  half  full),  22  gallons.  Working  capacity, 
5  to  50  pounds. 

The  wide  range  of  working  capacities  in  the  Minneton- 
na Home  Creamery  is  made  possible  by  the  adjustable 
shelf  feature  as  explained  on  page  58. 


The  Essential  Things  in  Making  Good  Butter      17 

making  that  warrants  a  chapter  on  these  subjects. 
You  may  discover  in  Chapter  IV  some  facts  about  sep- 
arating that  you  do  not  know  or  may  have  overlooked 
or  forgotten. 

It's  a  good  thing  to  know  the  percentage  of  butter- 
fat  in  your  milk  or  cream.  Such  knowledge  will  give 
you  a  basis  for  figuring  the  comparative  value  of  the 
different  feeds  and  rations  you  give  your  cows,  show- 
ing which  produce  the  richest  milk.  You  will  also 
be  able  to  ascertain,  how  much,  if  any,  butterfat  you 
are  losing  in  the  churning,  and  why.  The  Babcock 
test,  the  recognized  standard  test  for  finding  the  per 
cent  of  butterfat  in  cream  or  milk,  is  fully  explained 
in  Chapter  V. 

Almost  as  important  as  the  improved  processes  of 
churning  and  working  butter  are  the  modern  scientific 
methods  of  preparing  the  cream  for  the  churning — 
"ripening"  or  souring,  "starting,"  getting  the  right  de- 
gree of  acidity,  finding  the  best  temperature  at  which 
to  churn,  etc.  These  things  determine  how  much  or 
how  little  butterfat  you  lose  in  the  churning  and  to 
some  considerable  extent  influence  the  grain  and 
flavor  of  the  butter.  The  most  successful  scientific 
methods  of  "ripening,"  testing,  "starting,"  etc.,  are 
fully  and  clearly  described  in  Chapters  VI,  VII,  and 
VIII. 

Butter  color  has  much  to  do  with  butter  prices.  It 
is  dealt  with  in  Chapter  IX. 

In  the  churning  process  of  buttermaking  there  is 
also  another  chance  to  lose  a  large  chunk  of  your  but- 
terfat— and  your  profit — if  you  use  old  time,  unscien- 
tific, laborious  methods.  Science  has  shown  how  to 
prevent  this  loss,  as  well  as  how  to  do  away  with  most 


18      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

of  the  drudgery  and  waste  of  time  connected  with 
butermaking  as  our  mothers  and  grandmothers  did  it. 
The  new  way  in  buttermaking  is  interestingly  dealt 
with  in  Chapter  X. 

The  last  few  operations  in  good  buttermaking — 
washing,  working,  incorporating  moisture  and  salt, 
are  by  no  means  so,  unimportant  that  they  deserve 
anything  less  than  the  most  careful  attention.  A 
"slip-up"  here  may  spoil  the  otherwise  fine  batch  of 
butter.  Don't  skim  over  Chapter  XL  Study  it  care- 
fully. 

Some  valuable  pointers  on  putting  your  butter  up 
in  the  most  marketable  forms  are  also  given  in 
Chapter  XII. 

In  concluding  this  work  we  could  hardly  find  a  more 
appropriate  subject  than  a  principle  that  is  recognized 
and  given  careful  consideration  in  all  well-managed 
and  successful  manufacturing  enterprises — the  care  of 
the  tools  or  machinery  with  which  we  work.  Any  kind 
of  machinery,  no  matter  how  good  it  is,  how  correct 
in  working  principle,  how  carefully  and  strongly 
built,  requires  some  care  if  you  expect  to  get  the  best 
results  from  its  operation  and  long  reliable  service. 
Chapter  XIII  is  worth  reading. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Handling  of  the  Milk  and  Cream 

How  Quality  of  Butter  Is  Judged. 

TO  FULLY  appreciate  the  importance  of  great 
care   in   handling  the  milk  from  the  time  it 
leaves  the  cow  until  it  is  put  in  the  churn, 
and   to  understand  why   many  of  the  buttermaker's 
troubles  are  traceable  to  things  that  happen  to  the 
milk  or  cream,  it  is  first  necessary  to  understand  how 
butter  is  graded,  what  determines  the  price  you  get 
for  it. 

With  the  butter  trade — that  is,  butter  buyers,  whole- 
salers and  retailers — butter  is  graded  as  follows: 

"Specials,"  the  very  best;  "Extras,"  "Firsts"  and 
"Seconds"  in  the  order  named.  There  is  a  wide  varia- 
tion in  the  prices  between  "Specials"  and  "Seconds." 
There  is  always  a  good  market  for  "specials"  whereas 
the  lower  grades  are  a  drug  on  the  market  most  of  the 
time. 

In  judging  butter,  especially  in  prize  competitions, 
the  following  division  of  points  is  made : 

Flavor    45 

Body   or  grain    25 

Color 15 

Salt 10 

Package    5 

The  flavor  is  given  nearly  one-half  the  total  score, 
indicating  it  is  the  most  important  factor  in  determin- 

19 


20      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

ing  the  market  value  of  the  butter.  Perfect  flavor  is 
difficult  to  describe,  but  well  known  to  the  majority 
of  butter  consumers. 

The  grain  and  color  of  the  butter  are  governed 
mostly  by  the  churning  and  working  processes,  and 
will  be  considered  in  the  chapters  on  those  subjects. 

The  flavor  of  butter  and  what  affects  it  will  have  our 
attention  here.  Important  as  flavor  is  considered 
among  butter  traders  and  prize  contest  judges,  it  is 
even  more  important  to  the  consumer,  the  people  who 
eventually  buy  and  eat  the  product.  In  fact,  flavor  is 
almost  the  sole  consideration  by  which  most  consum- 
ers judge  butter.  If  the  flavor  of  your  butter  is  "off" 
the  people  won't  buy  it. 

The  two  things  that  have  more  to  do  with  flavor  of 
butter  than  anything  else  are  the  feed  and  care  of  cows, 
and  the  manner  in  which  the  milk  and  cream  are 
handled  before  churning. 

The  Flavor  From  Certain  Feeds, 

such  as  turnips,  beets,  etc.,  can  be  eliminated  if  the 
cows  are  fed  right  after  milking  time.  This  is  a  fact 
generally  understood  by  farmers  and  dairymen. 
Rancid  flavor  from  feeding  rape  can  only  be  overcome 
by  discontinuing  such  feed.  Rape  is  so  strong  and 
pronounced  in  flavor  that  it  is  impossible  to  make 
good  butter  when  it  is  used  as  feed  for  your  milk 
cows. 

Silage  Flavor. — A  very  common  trouble,  especially 
in  the  winter  months  when  cows  are  fed  large  quan- 
tities of  silage  in  poorly  ventilated  barns.  It  is  caused 
not  by  the  silage  as  a  feed  but  by  letting  the  milk  or 


The  Handling  of  the  Milk  and  Cream  21 

the  cream  stand  in  barns  until  it  takes  this  taint.  It 
is  impossible  to  feed  silage  through  a  cow's  system  to 
produce  this  defect  in  milk  and  cream.  If  the  milk 
and  cream  is  taken  from  the  barn  immediately  when 
drawn  from  the  cows  there  will  be  no  trouble  from 
this  source. 

The  feeding,  breeding  and  care  of  cows  is  considered 
at  length  in  Chapter  XII,  especially  in  reference  to 
quantity  of  milk  produced  and  its  butterfat  content. 
Cleanliness  is  the  most  important  thing  to  remember 
in  the  care  of  cows.  It  has  a  direct  effect  on  the  flavor 
of  the  butter  produced  from  their  milk.  Sanitation  is 
the  first  law  of  good  buttermaking.  It  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  success  in  the  buttermaking  business. 

The  chief  cause  of  undesirable  flavors  in  butter  is 
the  exposure  of  the  milk  to  strong  odors  and  dirt  and 
the  failure  to  keep  cream  cool  and  sweet  until  it  is 
ripened  for  buttermaking. 

One  of  the  best  means  of  insuring  the  true  butter 
flavor  is  proper  care  of  the  stable. 

The  proper  and  regular  cleaning  of  the  cows  is  ex- 
tremely important. 

On  some  farms  the  cream  separator  never  leaves  the 
barn  from  one  year's  end  to  the  other.  You  know 
the  stable  was  never  built  which  did  not  have  a  smell 
in  it.  Just  remember  that  milk  will  absorb  odors 
quicker  than  anything  else.  If  milk  is  left  standing  in 
the  barn  or  is  separated  in  the  barn  it  is  going  to  taste 
"cowy."  If  the  milk  tastes  bad  the  butter  will  taste 
bad  also.  Do  your  separating  in  the  milk  house. 

If  this  is  not  convenient  some  cans  can  be  set  out- 
side the  barn  door  to  empty  the  milk  into.  But  keep 


22      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

them  covered.   If  possible  send  pail  and  all  to  the  sep- 
arator just  as  soon  as  you  get  through  milking. 

Barn  Taint. — This  is  caused  by  keeping  cows  in 
crowded,  unsanitary,  poorly  ventilated  and  poorly 
lighted  stables,  or  by  leaving  milk  and  cream  in  barns, 
or  by  leaving  hand  separators  in  barn  or  allowing 
dust  to  drop  in  milk  when  milking.  When  milk  is 
cooling  in  a  place  where  odors  exist  and  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  milk  cools  below  the  temperature  of  the 
air,  the  oxygen  of  the  air  enters  into  the  milk  and 
cream,  carrying  odors  that  are  in  the  air.  This  is  one 
of  the  main  causes  of  barn  flavor. 

Metallic  Flavor  is  caused  by  keeping  milk  or  cream 
in  old  rusty  cans,  ripening  cream  in  vats  not  properly 
tinned,  using  poorly  tinned  starter  cans  or  using  any- 
thing where  the  milk  comes  in  contact  with  metal 
when  sour.  Ripening  cream  to  .&%  acid  also  causes 
metallic  flavor. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Separating  the  Cream 

SEPARATE  your  milk  just  as  soon  after  milking 
as  possible.  Separating  should  be  done  while 
the  milk  is  warm  if  you  want  to  get  all  the 
butterfat  possible.  It  has  been  proven  that  butterfat 
separates  best  when  it  is  at  a  temperature  of  90  de- 
grees Fahrenheit.  Before  separating,  the  milk  should 
be  strained  through  a  reliable  wire  strainer,  so  that  if 
any  hairs  or  dirt  have  gotten  into  it  they  will  not  get 
into  the  separator.  (We  recommend  the  Ekvall  San- 
itary Milk  Strainer.  It  is  the  most  efficient  strainer 
we  have  ever  seen.  You  can  buy  it  from  the  Minne- 
tonna  Co.) 

After  it  is  separated,  the  cream  should  be  put  into  a 
long  narrow  can,  stirred  so  as  to  aerate  it  and  drive 
off  the  animal  heat,  cooled  down  to  about  50  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  held  there  until  you  have  cream  enough 
for  churning.  Do  not  put  cover  on  the  can  until  the 
cream  is  well  aerated  and  cooled  and  do  not  hold  it 
over  2y2  or  3  days  (2  days  is  better). 

Never  Mix  Warm  and  Cold  Cream. — If  you  do  it 
will  sour  or  ripen  before  you  want  it  to  do  so.  By 
using  two  cans,  you  can  use  one  for  the  morning 
cream  and  by  evening  it  will  be  cooled  so  you  can 
turn  it  in  with  the  previous  day's  cream  and  have  the 

23 


24      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

empty  can  to  put  the  warm  cream  in.  There  is  no 
need  of  mixing  warm  and  cold  cream  as  is  the  general 
practice. 

Smothered  Cream  is  caused  by  putting  a  tight  cover 
on  can  and  not  allowing  the  animal  heat  to  pass  off. 
When  the  milk  is  drawn  from  the  cow  the  temperature 
is  98  degrees  and  it  should  be  cooled,  allowing  the 
animal  heat  to  escape.  This  smothering  of  cream 
produces  a  rancid  smell  and  is  very  detrimental  to 
good  buttermaking. 

Operating  the  Separator. 

The  variation  of  the  speed  of  a  cream  separator  has 
a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  enormous  losses  of  butter- 
fat  that  have  cost  dairymen  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars  each  year.  Increasing  the  speed  of  a  separator 
two  turns  increases  the  velocity  or  pressure  of  the 
bowl  4  times ;  that  is  to  say,  when  increasing  the  speed 
on  handle  2  revolutions,  above  45  RPM  for  example, 
we  increase  the  skimming  velocity  4  times.  And 
should  we  increase  the  handle  velocity  to  60  RPM, 
the  pressure  or  velocity  of  the  bowl  would  be  30  times 
greater  at  60  RPM  than  at  45  RPM.  This  one  thing 
causes  the  great  variation  in  cream  tests,  also  the 
great  losses  that  occur  by  not  turning  the  hand  sep- 
arator at  its  proper  speed. 

Speed  Indicator. — Every  cream  separator  should  be 
equipped  with  one  of  these  devices.  They  are  inex- 
pensive and  save  their  first  cost  many  times  in  amount 
of  butterfat  saved  by  turning  the  machine  at  proper 
speed,  especially  when  more  than  one  person  turns 
the  separator. 


Separating  the  Cream  25 

Condition  of  Milk  While  Separating. — When  cows 
are  long  in  lactation  (old  milk  cows)  and  are  fed  on 
dry  feed,  the  whole  milk  is  much  harder  to  separate, 
and  it  is  necessary  to  be  careful  in  the  operating  of  the 
separator  under  these  conditions. 

There  is  not  a  cream  separator  manufactured  today 
that  will  skim  milk  at  a  low  temperature  and  do  good, 
clean  skimming  with  old  milk.  Great  butterfat  losses 
are  bound  to  occur  in  any  separator.  All  separators 
do  better  work  when  the  temperatures  are  85  and 
above. 

Foundation  for  Separator. — A  cream  separator  bowl 
is  the  most  delicate,  highest  speed  machine  made  to- 
day and  it  requires  great  care  and  should  have  a  good 
solid  foundation  and  run  with  steady  motion.  The 
foundation  should  be  concrete  and  the  separator 
should  always  be  kept  level.  It  should  be  started  slow 
until  the  full  speed  is  reached — not  jerked,  and  it 
should  also  be  turned  full  correct  speed  as  long  as  any 
milk  is  left  in  the  receiving  tank  to  be  skimmed. 

The  Care  of  Your  Separator. 

If  there  is  one  part  of  the  dairy  more  than  another 
where  cleanliness  is  an  absolute  necessity,  it  is  the 
cream  separator.  There  are  some  who  think  that  once 
a  day  is  often  enough  to  wash  a  separator  bowl — 
others  only  do  it  twice  or  three  times  a  week.  That  is 
a  big  mistake. 

A  Separator  Bowl  Must  Be  Thoroughly  Cleaned 
After  Every  Skimming. — If  it  isn't,  old  particles  of 
butterfat,  or  particles  of  impurities  full  of  harmful 
germs  will  affect  or  ruin  vour  next  batch  of  cream  or 


26      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

milk.  You  can't  make  first  grade  butter  with  tainted, 
unsanitary  butterfat.  You  can't  get  pure  butterfat  if 
your  separator  is  not  freshly  cleaned.  Besides  there 
is  a  heavy  loss  in  skimming,  as  no  separator  will  do 
as  good  work  when  not  clean. 

Here  are  a  few  rules  that  must  be  followed  to  get 
best  cream  separator  results. 

1.  Be    sure    your    separator    bowl    is    thoroughly 
washed  after  each  skimming. 

2.  Be  sure  your  separator  is  well  oiled. 

3.  Be  sure  the  speed  of  your  separator  is  always 
even,  and  exactly  as  specified  by  the  manufacturers. 

4.  Be  sure  your  separator  is  in  a  dry,  clean  place, 
nowhere  near  anything  that  gives  off  an  odor. 

5.  Be  sure  to  follow  all  instructions  which  accom- 
pany your  separator. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Babcock  Test 

THE    Babcock   Test,     devised   by    Prof.     S.    M. 
Babcock,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  is  a 
method  for  the  accurate  and  rapid  determina- 
tion of  the  per  cent  of  butterfat  in  milk  and  milk  prod- 
ucts,  such   as   cream,   skim   milk,   buttermilk,   cheese, 
etc. 

It  shows  the  number  of  pounds  of  butterfat  in  each 
hundred  pounds  of  milk  or  cream. 

On  account  of  its  accuracy  it  has  been  adopted  in 
many  states  as  the  official  method  of  determining 
butterfat  in  milk. 

Value  of  the  Babcock  Test. — It  shows  whether  or 
not  you  are  losing  butterfat  in  the  operation  of  the  sep- 
arator. It  enables  you  to  determine  how  much  butter- 
fat,  if  any,  you  are  losing  in  churning  butter. 

It  enables  you  to  figure  the  per  cent  of  "over-run." 
(See  Chapter XI  for  explanation  of  "over-run").  You 
should  get  about  20%  "over-run"  to  make  the  most 
profit  out  of  your  cream,  and  make  the  best  grade 
butter.  The  Babcock  test  is  necessary  to  know 
whether  the  proper  "over-run"  is  obtained. 

It  gives  you  a  basis  for  figuring  the  comparative 
value  of  the  different  feeds  and  rations  you  feed  your 
cows,  showing  which  produce  the  milk  richest  in  but- 
terfat. 

27 


28      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 


One  of  the  several  styles  of 
Babcock  Testers  sold  by  the 
Minnetonna  Company.  The 
hand-operated  testers  are  also 
made  for  4  bottles.  Electric- 
operated  testers  made  for  2 
to  12  bottles.  See  Dairy  Sup- 
ply catalog  of  the  Minnetonna 
Company. 


The  most  valuable  use  of  the  Babcock  Test  is  in 
showing  what  each  cow  in  your  herd  is  doing  in  the 
way  of  butterfat  production.  With  this  knowledge 
you  can  weed  out  the  poor  cows  and  breed  the  best 
ones  to  produce  even  better  butterfat  producers.  The 
value  of  a  Babcock  Test  outfit  to  the  dairy  farmer  can- 
not be  overestimated.  To  many  farmers  it  has  proven 
itself  worth  thousands  of  dollars. 

Assistant  Secretary  of  Agriculture  Vrooman  esti- 
mates that  the  American  farmer  would  be  $10,000,000 
richer  at  the  end  of  the  year  if  he  took  advantage  of 
the  knowledge  at  present  on  tap  in  the  Department  of 
Agriculture.  That  estimate  is  ridiculously  low.  The 
owners  of  the  dairy  cows  alone  could  make  up  the 
$10,000,000  without  half  trying.  Ten  minutes  a  day 
spent  in  the  study  of  economical  feeds  and  rations 
would  do  the  trick.  Investment  of  a  few  dollars  in  a 
Babcock  Tester  would  soon  cut  out  enough  of  the  rob- 
bers to  give  the  former  cow  slave  an  hour  a  day  for 
studying  the  problems  of  profit-getting  and  home  im- 
provement. 


The  Babcock  Test  29 

Every  Cow  Owner  Should  Have  a  Babcock  Tester. 

If  you  have  never  used  a  Babcock  Tester  or  had 
some  one  else  test  your  herd,  depend  upon  it  you  are 
keeping  one  or  more  animals  at  a  loss.  A  test  will 
show  you  some  surprising  facts;  facts  that  you  can- 
not afford  to  ignore;  facts  that  mean  big  money  to 
you. 

For  example,  take  three  cows,  each  producing  5,500 
Ibs.  of  milk  per  year  (an  average  of  20  Ibs.  per  day  for 
275  days).  Cow  No.  1  produces  milk  containing  3% 
butterfat,  No.  2,  4%  butterfat,  No.  3,  5%  butterfat. 
Say  butterfat  is  worth  25  cents  per  pound,  see  what 
we  get. 

Cow  No.  1—3%  of  5,500  equals  165  Ibs.  butter- 
fat  at  25c  $41.25 

Cow  No.  2 — 4%  of  5,500  equals  220  Ibs.  butter- 
fat  at  25c  55.00 

Cow  No.  3—5%  of  5,500  equals  275  Ibs.  butter- 
fat   at   25c    68.75 

Now  supposing  it  costs  $40  to  feed  and  care  for  each 
cow  for  one  year.  On  this  basis: 

Cow  No.  1  makes  $1.25  net  profit. 
Cow  No.  2  makes  $15.00  net  profit. 
Cow  No.  3  makes  $28.75  net  profit. 

Cow  No.  3  is  equal  to  23  cows  like  No.  1. 

Can  you  afford  not  to  own  a  Babcock  Tester? 

A  tester  is  inexpensive  in  first  cost.  A  small  supply 
of  an  inexpensive  chemical  is  the  only  expense  there- 
after. Anyone  can  make  accurate  tests. 


30      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

To  Test  Milk. 

Apparatus :  17.6  c.c.  pipette,  17.5  c.c.  acid  measure, 
test  bottles,  dividers,  water  bath,  centrifuge,  sulphuric 
acid  (specific  gravity  1.83  to  1.84).  The  milk  to  be 
tested  and  the  acid  used  should  be  brought  to  a  tem- 
perature of  about  70  degrees ;  this  can  best  be  done  by 
the  use  of  the  hot  water  bath. 

1.  Pour  sample  of  milk  to  be  tested  from  one  vessel 
to  another  at  least  five  times. 

2.  Take  pipette  between   thumb   and   second  and 
third  fingers,  leaving  the  index  finger  free.    Draw  milk 
into  pipette  immediately  after  stirring,  and  place  the 
index  finger  over  the  top  of  the  pipette;  now  release 
the  finger  very  slightly  until  top  of  the  milk  column 
is  even  with  the  mark  on  the  pipette. 

3.  Hold  milk  bottle  on  a  slant  and  place  end  of 
pipette  in  the  neck  of  bottle,  leaving  an  opening  for 
air,  so  that  air  bubbles  cannot  form  and  throw  milk 
out  of  neck,  and  release  finger  and  allow  the  milk  to 
flow  into  the  bottle,  blowing  the  last  drop  from  the 
pipette. 

4.  Fill  acid  measure  to  mark  (never  draw  acid  into 
pipette),  take  milk  bottle  by  the  neck  between  thumb 
and  fingers  of  the  left  hand,  so  that  the  bottle  can  be 
turned;  now  bring  the  lip  of  acid  measure  to  mouth 
of  bottle,  and  pour  acid  into  the  bottle,  rotating  the 
bottle  so  that  all  of  the  milk  will  be  washed  from  the 
neck  into  the  bottle.    Hold  the  bottle  at  a  slant  so  that 
the  acid  will  not  fall  directly  on  the  milk  and  form 
pieces  of  charred  curd. 

5.  Give  bottle  a  rotary  motion  in  order  to  cause  a 
gradual  mixing  of  milk  and  acid;  sudden  mixing  will 
cause  large  amounts  of  heat  and  gas  and  will  throw 


The  Bab  cock  Test  31 

the  material  out  of  the  bottle.     (Keep  acid  away  from 
face  and  eyes.) 

6.  After  the  bottle  has  been  stirred  thoroughly  and 
the  curd  is  dissolved,  place  the  bottle  in  centrifuge 
and  whirl  five  minutes. 

7.  Place  bottles  in  water  bath  of  180  degrees  F.  for 
five  minutes  and  fill  with  hot  water  to  neck. 

8.  Whirl  for  two  minutes. 

9.  Place  in  water  bath  for  five  minutes  and  fill  with 
hot  water  to  within  one-half  inch  of  the  top  of  bottle. 

10.  Whirl  for  two  minutes. 

11.  Place  in  water  bath,   130  degrees  F.,  for  five 
minutes. 

12.  Measure  fat  column  by  placing  one  point  of 
dividers  vat  bottom  and  the  other  at  the  top ;  then, 
keeping  dividers  at  that  spread,  place  one  point  on  the 
zero  mark  and  note  where  the  other  point  falls  on  the 
scale.    That  number  will  correspond  to  the  per  cent  of 
fat  in  the  milk. 


To  Test  Cream. 

In  testing  cream,  the  samples  of  cream  for  testing 
should  be  weighed  instead  of  being  measured. 

Weigh  out  18  grams  cream  in  cream  bottle  on  an 
accurate  scale  tested  by  State  Officials  having  state 
seal  on  it.  Add  sulphuric  acid  and  shake  until  con- 
tents in  bottle  are  coffee  brown  (the  exact  amount  of 
acid  to  use  cannot  be  specified.  It  must  be  enough 
to  cause  cream  to  turn  to  a  coffee  brown  color).  Place 
in  tester,  run  seven  minutes,  stop,  fill  to  neck  with 
hot  water.  Place  in  tester,  run  two  minutes,  then 


32      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

stop.  Add  water  at  a  temperature  of  140  degrees  F. 
until  fat  rises  above  zero  mark.  Place  in  tester,  run 
two  minutes,  stop.  Then  add  a  few  drops  of  red 
reader  (Emyl  alcohol).  Then  read  from  bottom  of  fat 
line  to  bottom  of  red  reader  line  or  top  of  fat  line. 
Place  divider  on  zero  mark  and  read  up.  This  will 
give  you  percentage  of  fat  or  pounds  of  fat  in  100 
pounds  of  cream. 

Causes  of  Defects  in  Tests. 

Running  tester  too  slow. 
Sour  lumpy  cream. 
Too  much  acid. 
Too  strong  acid. 
Too  weak  acid. 
Reading  test  too  cold. 
Reading  test  too  hot. 
Not  thoroughly  mixing 

sample  before  testing. 
Not  taking  a  proportionate 

sample. 

Speed  of  Babcock  Testers. 
Diameter.  R.  P.  M. 

10  inches  1,074 

12  inches  980 

14  inches  909 

16  inches 884 

18  inches   800 

20  inches 759 

22  inches   724 

24  inches  .  650 


The  Babcock  Test 


33 


Temperatures  of  Cream. 

Temperatures  of  Acid  and  Tempera- 
tures of  Cream  should  be  the  same  or 
nearly  the  same,  about  70  degrees  F. 

To  Test  Lumpy  Cream. 

Add  Y4  stick  of  Caustic  Soda.  Put 
this  in  sample  of  sour  cream  and  stir 
until  lumps  dissolve. 

To  find  number  of  pounds  butterfat  in 
milk  or  cream  multiply  the  pounds  of 
milk  or  cream  by  percentage  as  shown 
by  test. 

Example  I — Milk. 

400  Ibs.  milk  testing  4%  butterfat. 
400  X  4  =  16  Ibs.  butterfat. 

Example  II — Cream. 

80  Ibs.  cream  testing  30%. 
80  X  30  =  24  Ibs.  butterfat. 
Multiply  pounds  of  cream 
by  test  and  divide  by  100. 


Note:  It  is  not  necessary  to  weigh  cream  samples 
when  testing  it  for  one's  own  use.  It  is  only  when  buy- 
ing cream  that  it  is  compulsory  to  weigh  the  samples. 


Milk  Test 
Bottle 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Ripening  the  Cream 

THE  butterfat  particles  in     cream   are   held   in 
solution  by  the  curd.     The  object  of  "ripen- 
ing," which  really  means  souring — is  to  make 
the  curd  so  brittle  that  the  butterfat  particles  will  be 
easily  and  completely  released   during  the  churning 
process.     In  that  way  you  waste  none  of  the  butter- 
fat,  but  turn  it  all  into  butter.    It's  very  profitable  to 
properly  ripen  cream  before  churning  it. 

This  process  is  carried  on  by  heating  cream  to  a 
temperature  where  the  germ  life  will  grow  and  de- 
velop acid — between  60  and  80  degrees.  The  tempera- 
ture at  which  to  ripen  cream  depends  on  the  time  of 
year;  temperature  of  weather,  richness  of  cream. 
Cream  containing  a  small  percentage  of  butterfat  will 
ripen  much  faster  and  at  a  lower  temperature  than 
rich,  high-testing  cream. 

Cream  containing  18  to  25%  butterfat  will  ripen  at 
8  to  10  degrees  lower  temperature  in  the  same  length 
of  time  than  richer  cream  and  great  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  over-ripen  it. 

The  heavy-testing  cream,  from  28  to  35%,  ripens 
slowly  as  it  does  not  contain  the  percentage  of  milk 
serum  (skim  milk),  therefore  can  be  ripened  at  a 
higher  temperature,  but  great  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  ripen  over  8  to  10  hours.  Over-ripening  causes 
bitter  flavors. 

34 


Ripening  the  Cream 


35 


If  you  churn  cream  that  is  soured  in  the  old  fash- 
ioned way,  by  letting  it  stand  for  four  or  five  days,  it 
is  not  ripened  evenly  on  churning  day,  and  conse- 
quently, you  lose  a  lot  of  butterfat  in  the  buttermilk. 

Cream  must  be  ripened  evenly  and  all  to  the  same 
degree ;  then  there  won't  be  any  loss  of  butterfat,  and 
you  will  make  the  best  grade  butter. 


The  Minnetonna  patent  ripening  coil  is 
sold  exclusively  by  the  Minnetonna  Com- 
pany and  its  dealers.  See  their  Dairy  Sup- 
ply catalog. 


The  Minnetonna  Ripening  Coil  enables  you  to  get 
this  ripening  process  done  just  right.  First  clean  and 
scald  out  the  barrel  of  the  Minnetonna  Home  Cream- 
ery thoroughly.  After  having  cleaned  the  barrel  thor- 
oughly, pour  in  the  cream,  first  having  taken  out  the 
shelf — put  in  the  ripening  coil,  and  fill  it  with  hot 
water,  not  too  hot,  but  about  90  degrees. 

Strain  the  cream  into  the  barrel.  This  will  break 
up  the  body  of  the  cream  and  remove  any  dirt  which 
may  have  found  its  way  in.  With  the  body  of  the 
cream  broken,  the  churning  will  be  both  complete  and 
easy. 

Stir  the  cream  by  gently  rocking  the  ripening  coil 
several  times  so  that  all  the  cream  will  have  an  even 
temperature. 

Raise  the  temperature  of  the  cream  to  about  80  de- 
grees— stir  the  cream  gently  with  ripening  coil.  Be 


36      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

sure  that  the  temperature  of  all  the  cream  in  the  barrel 
is  uniform.  Use  a  tested  dairy  thermometer.  Then 
let  the  cream  cool  down  to  about  75  degrees. 

Cover  the  barrel  with  a  clean  cloth,  and  then  with 
a  heavy  rug  or  blanket  or  something  to  retain  the  heat 
— that  is  all  there  is  to  do.  In  the  morning  when  you 
are  ready  to  churn  you  will  find  the  cream  ready, 
ripened  every  bit  of  it — and  all  to  the  same  degree. 

Or  you  can  hold  the  cream  at  churning  temperature 
for  an  indefinite  length  of  time,  by  adding  more  hot 
water  as  may  be  necessary. 

When  the  cream  has  a  sour  yet  pleasant  taste  and 
a  good  body  it  is  ready  to  churn. 

After  the  cream  is  ripened,  especially  in  the  summer 
time,  it  may  be  too  warm,  and  if  so,  you  can  cool  it  to 
the  right  churning  temperature  by  pouring  cold  water 
through  the  ripening  coil. 

Cooling  Cream. — Before  churning,  the  ripened  cream 
should  be  cooled  down  to  the  right  temperature.  The 
object  of  cooling  the  cream  down  is  also  to  get  it  in 
such  a  condition  that  all  of  the  butterfat  particles  will 
come  out  of  the  cream  when  it  is  churned.  If  cream 
is  churned  at  too  high  a  temperature,  there  will  be  a 
certain  loss  of  butterfat  particles  in  the  buttermilk. 
The  Minnetonna  Ripening  Coil  will  quickly  cool  down 
the  cream  to  the  proper  churning  temperature  by  run- 
ning cold  or  ice  water  through  it.  The  correct  tem- 
peratures of  cream  for  churning  are  given  in  Chapter 
VIII. 

When  you  are  through  with  the  ripening  coil  pour 
out  the  water,  wipe  ripener  dry  and  hang  it  up  in  the 
sun  or  a  warm  dry  place  until  you  want  it  again. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Testing  Cream  for  Acidity 

THE  acid  test  tells  when  the  cream  is  "ripe"  or 
sour  enough  to  churn.  This  device  should  be 
used  with  the  Minnetonna  Home  Creamery. 
It  is  simple.  Anyone  can  quickly  learn  to  use  it. 

We  will  explain  the  Nafis  acidity-testing  outfit 
here.  We  believe  it  to  be  the  best  outfit  made  for 
home  creamery  use  because  of  its  simplicity  and  small 
cost.  You  can  procure  it  from  the  Minnetonna  Com- 
pany. It  is  listed  in  their  dairy  supply  catalog. 

The  idea  of  the  test  is  simply  this :  The  acid  in 
the  cream  when  mixed  with  an  alkali  becomes  neutral 
— that  is,  it  changes  into  a  substance  that  is  known 
among  chemists  as  a  salt.  (There  are  different  kinds 
of  salts.  Table  salt  or  the  salt  used  for  seasoning 
food  is  only  one  of  the  many  kinds  of  salts.) 

The  alkali  which  we  use  to  neutralize  the  acid  in 
sour  cream  we  call  neutralizer. 

The  amount  of  neutralizer  it  takes  to  neutralize 
the  acid  in  a  given  quantity  of  sour  cream  gives  us 
a  basis  for  figuring  the  percentage  of  acidity  in  the 
cream  we  are  testing. 

"But  can  you  tell  when  the  acid  in  sour  cream 
has  become  neutralized?"  you  ask. 

We  put  a  few  drops  of  a  solution  called  indicator 
into  the  sample  of  sour  cream  we  are  testing.  Then, 
when  enough  neutralizer  has  been  added  to  the  sour 
cream  to  neutralize  the  acid,  the  cream  will  turn 

37 


38      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

pink.  If  you  know  how  much  neutralizer  you  have 
added  to  the  cream  before  it  turned  pink  you  can 
easily  figure  the  percentage  of  acidity  of  the  cream. 

Here's  where  the  necessity  for  the  acidity-testing 
outfit  comes  in.  You  must  have  the  instruments  for 
making  accurate  measures  of  both  the  sour  cream  to 
be  tested  for  acidity  and  the  neutralizer  used.  The 
value  of  the  test  depends  absolutely  upon  the  accuracy 
of  the  measures  taken.  Such  a  small  amount  of  cream 
is  used  that  if  a  mistake  is  made  in  the  test  it  will 
be  multiplied  many  times  over  in  giving  the  results 
for  the  whole  amount  of  cream. 

For  measuring  out  the  sour  cream  we  use  a  glass 
tube  called  a  pipette,  which  is  open  at  both  ends.  Dip 
the  lower  end  of  the  pipette  into  the  cream,  put  the 
upper  end  in  your  mouth  and  suck  slowly  until  the 
cream  is  a  little  past  the  line  in  the  upper  neck  of  the 
bottle.  (If  you  suck  any  of  the  liquid  into  your  mouth 
do  not  use  that  liquid  as  some  of  the  acid  from  your 
mouth  may  have  mixed  with  the  cream  and  spoiled 
it  for  testing.)  Remove  the  end  from  your  mouth  and 
quickly  place  your  finger  or  thumb  tightly  over  open- 
ing (at  top).  You  can  then  lift  the  pipette  out  of  the 
cream  and  the  cream  in  the  pipette  will  not  run  out 
unless  you  remove  your  finger.  If  the  cream  in  the 
pipette  is  still  above  the  measuring  line,  lift  your 
thumb  slightly  and  allow  the  surplus  to  run  out. 

Now  let  the  cream  in  the  pipette  run  out  into  a 
clean  glass.  Then  suck  some  clean  water  into  the 
pipette,  shake  it  around  to  be  sure  that  none  of  the 
cream  is  left  in  the  pipette,  and  add  the  rinsing  to 
the  cream  in  the  glass. 

For  this  test  use  a  pipette  holding  9  c.c.  (c.c.  means 


Testing  Cream  for  Acidity 


39 


cubic  centimeters,  the  standard  of  measurement  used 
in  chemistry). 

Add  a  couple  of  drops  of  indicator  to  the  cream  in 
the  glass.  We  are  now  ready  to  add  the  neutralizer, 
but  will  first  explain  the  apparatus  for  measuring  the 
neutralizer — the  Nans  Outfit  illustrated  here. 

The  outfit  comes 
"Knocked  down"  so  it  is 
first  necessary  to  put  it 
together  as  shown  in  the 
illustration,  being  care- 
ful to  have  all  joints 
tight. 

The  neutralizer  is 
shipped  in  powder  form 
to  be  mixed  with  water. 
This  saves  breakage  on 
bottles  and  express 
charges  on  the  water. 

The  large  bottle  con- 
tains the  neutralizer. 

The  glass  tube  (C) 
with  figures  0  to  10  c.c. 
(cubic  centimeters)  is 
called  a  burette.  This 
is  used  to  measure  the 
amount  of  neutralizer 
that  is  added  to  the 
cream  being  tested  for  acidity. 

The  pinchcock  (D)  when  pressed  between  the 
fingers,  allows  the  neutralizer  to  run  out  of  the 
burette  as  slow  or  as  fast  as  desired. 

To   fill   the  burette:     Hold   the   rubber  vent  tube 


40      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

(B)  shut  and  press  down  the  rubber  bulb  (A). 
The  air  pressure  then  forces  neutralizer  from  the 
bottle  into  the  burette  ("C").  When  enough  of 
the  liquid  has  been  forced  into  the  burette  to  flow 
into  the  bulb  (E)  at  the  top  of  the  tube,  release  your 
pressure  on  the  vent  tube  (B)  and  the  rubber  bulb 
(A).  The  air  pressure  will  then  force  the  surplus  neu- 
tralizer back  into  the  bottle  so  that  the  burette  will 
remain  rilled  only  to  the  zero  point. 

It  is  well  to  draw  out  a  little  of  the  liquid  from  the 
burette  to  be  sure  that  the  tip  (F)  is  rilled.  You  must 
then,  however,  force  more  neutralizer  into  the  burette, 
so  that  it  is  again  filled  to  the  zero  point.  (The  neu- 
tralizer drawn  off  may  be  put  back  into  the  bottle.) 

Making  the  test.  We  are  now  ready  to  add  the 
neutralizer  to  the  cream  which  we  have  measured  out 
into  the  glass.  Do  this  slowly,  drop  by  drop,  by 
pressing  on  the  pinchcock  (D)  very  gently.  Stir  the 
cream  constantly.  At  first  the  pink  color  caused  by 
adding  a  few  drops  of  the  neutralizer  will  disappear 
quickly,  but  as  the  acid  becomes  neutralized  the  color 
will  disappear  more  slowly.  As  soon  as  a  permanent 
pink  color  is  obtained,  the  acidity  is  neutralized. 

Reading  the  Test. 

The  burette  holds  10  c.c.  of  the  neutralizer.  When 
enough  neutralizer  has  been  drawn  off  to  turn  the 
cream  pink  the  figure  opposite  the  column  of  neu- 
tralizer still  remaining  in  the  burette  indicates  the 
number  of  c.c.  of  neutralizer  it  took  to  neutralize  the 
cream. 

Each  c.c.  of  neutralizer  used  shows  that  there  is 
.1  per  cent  (one-tenth  of  one  per  cent)  of  acidity  in 


Testing  Cream  for  Acidity  41 

the  cream.  Examples.  If  2.1  c.c.  of  neutralizer  are 
used  the  acidity  is  .21  per  cent  (2%oo  of  1%)  if  6.4  c.c. 
are  used  the  acidity  is  .64  per  cent  (6%oo  of  !%)>  etc- 
If  all  the  neutralizer  in  the  burette  were  used  before 
the  cream  turned  pink,  it  would  show  that  the  cream 
contained  1%  of  acid  (much  too  sour  for  making  good 
butter). 

When  the  acidity  of  the  cream  is  .5  per  cent  (one- 
half  of  one  per  cent)  it  is  ready  to  churn.  From  .5  to 
.7  per  cent  (one-half  to  seven-tenths  per  cent)  is  safe 
for  churning,  but  .8  per  cent  is  the  danger  mark.  Cream 
should  never  be  that  sour  to  make  good  butter. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Starters 

CREAM  held  at  50  degrees  Fahrenheit  or  there- 
abouts will  not  ripen  or  sour  at  once.  In  fact, 
it  will  keep  a  long  time  at  that  temperature. 
Before  you  ripen  it,  you  must  warm  it  to  about  65  or 
70  degrees  Fahrenheit.  It  has  been  customary  on 
most  farms  to  let  the  cream  sour  or  ripen  of  its  own 
accord,  but  there  are  several  reasons  why  this  should 
not  be  done. 

First  again,  comes  flavor.  If  we  were  sure  the  right 
kind  of  bacteria  were  in  the  cream  and  enough  of  them 
to  eat  up  any  objectionable  kinds  which  may  have 
found  their  way  in,  there  would  be  no  necessity  for 
using  "starters." 

But  as  we  have  no  way  of  knowing  this,  the  safest 
way  is  to  put  in  the  right  kind  of  starter  in  sufficient 
quantities,  so  you  will  know  just  what  the  results  will 
be  beforehand. 

Then  too,  if  the  cream  is  allowed  to  ripen  of  its  own 
accord,  you  will  have  to  churn  when  the  cream  is 
ready,  which  may  not  be  a  convenient  time.  If  the 
cream  is  kept  sweet  until  the  starter  is  put  in,  it  can 
be  so  timed  that  it  is  ready  when  you  want  it,  be  that 
morning,  noon  or  night. 

Another  reason  for  using  the  starter,  and  an  impor- 
tant reason,  is  that  you  will  get  better  butter  of  a  more 

42 


Starters 


43 


uniform  grade  out  of  a  given  quantity  of  cream  by 
using  a  good  starter,  than  you  will  by  allowing  the 
cream  to  ripen  of  its  own  accord. 

We  advise  the  use  of  a  commercial  starter.  There 
are  several  good  ones  on  the  market.  Starter  tablets 
can  be  bought  from  the  Minnetonna  Company. 

That  you  may  be  prepared  for  such  an  emergency 
as  finding  yourself  out  of  starter  tablets  and  unable  to 
get  a  new  supply  quickly,  we  include  at  the  end  of 
this  chapter  directions  for  a  home-made  starter. 


The  Minnetonna  Tea  Kettle 
Starter  Outfit.  The  can  fits 
into  any  family  size  tea  kettle 
and  is  used  like  a  double  boiler 
in  heating  the  cream  to  the 
proper  temperature.  The  glass 
jar  is  for  keeping  the  starter  in 
until  used.  See  the  Minne- 
tonna Dairy  Supply  catalog. 


How  to  Use  a  Commercial  Starter. 

Take  two  quarts  of  milk  and  heat  to  180  or  190°  F., 
cool  to  80,  add  one  tablet ;  set  at  a  temperature  of  80 
in  winter;  69  to  70  in  summer.  It  will  take  12  to  15 
hours  to  coagulate  (sour).  Set  in  glass  jars  or  glass 
stopper  bottle.  This  is  the  most  sanitary  way  to  grow 


44      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

a  starter.  Absolute  cleanliness  must  be  used  in  mak- 
ing starters.  All  utensils  should  be  washed  clean  and 
scalded  when  being  used.  Never  put  thermometer  in 
mouth  when  taking  temperatures.  It  will  transfer  the 
germs  into  the  starter. 

When  starter  is  ripe  stir  it  thoroughly  so  as  to  break 
up  the  curd;  then  cool  to  60°  if  used  at  once  and  to 
50  if  held  any  length  of  time. 

When  the  cream  to  be  churned  is  heated  to  proper 
temperatures  for  ripening,  add  the  starter,  stirring  the 
cream  so  the  starter  will  be  well  stirred  into  it.  Then 
let  the  cream  stand  until  ripe. 

Cream  containing  from  18  to  20%  of  butterfat 
should  have  2  quarts  of  "starter"  to  each  10  gallons  of 
cream  or  less.  Two  quarts  of  starter  will  not  do  any 
harm  in  five  gallons  of  cream.  Cream  containing  from 
28  to  35%  of  butterfat  should  have  3  quarts  of  "start- 
er" to  10  gallons  of  cream. 

Cream  should  never  contain  over  35%  butterfat  to 
get  good  results  in  churning. 

When  cows  are  milked  a  long  time  (strippers)  the 
cream  is  very  difficult  to  ripen  as  it  contains  a  large 
percentage  of  milk  sugar,  and  will  ripen  slowly,  espe- 
cially when  fed  on  dry  feed  in  winter  time.  The  per- 
centage of  "starter"  can  be  increased  under  these  con- 
ditions and  higher  temperatures  used.  Great  care 
must  be  taken  as  such  cream  will  develop  undesirable 
flavors  if  held  too  long  or  ripened  too  long  before 
churning,  causing  bitter  flavor  in  the  butter. 

A  Few  Things  to  Remember. 

Remember  that  the  lactic  acid  germ  is  a  tiny,  deli- 
cate plant. 


Starters  45 


That  heat  may  very  easily  destroy  its  life. 

That  cold  does  it  no  injury  whatever. 

That  high  acid  weakens  and  finally  kills  it. 

That  a  temperature  between  65-75°  F.  is  most  fa- 
vorable for  the  production  of  a  good  quality  of  acid. 

Always  use  a  thermometer  when  setting  a  starter. 

Never  pasteurize  without  knowing  the  time  and 
temperature  applied. 

Never  use  old,  acid  or  unclean  milk. 

Never  use  anything  but  glassware  or  good  tinware 
for  handling  your  starter. 

Have  a  well  tinned  starter  can.  Copper  is  poison  to 
the  good  flavor  of  lactic  acid. 

Try  to  be  a  good  judge  of  conditions  as  they  arise. 

Do  not  think  that  the  starter  will  take  care  of  itself. 

Do  not  think  that  any  kind  of  sweet  milk  is  good 
for  making  a  first-class  starter. 

Do  not  shake  up  the  starter  until  it  is  to  be  used. 

Home-Made  Starter. 

Take  2  quarts  of  milk;  select  the  milk  from  the 
newest  milk  cow  that  gives  the  most  milk.  Cool  and 
stir  this  milk  so  as  to  drive  off  all  animal  heat;  then 
heat  to  85  degrees  and  place  in  a  Mason  fruit  jar;  set 
it  where  the  temperature  will  stay  at  85.  It  coagu- 
lates (sours)  in  10  to  12  hours.  This  starter  should 
be  stirred  until  all  the  lumps  break  up  and  it  appears 
like  rich  cream.  Then  cool  to  50  and  it  can  be  trans- 
ferred into  the  cream  to  be  ripened. 

Should  there  be  an  unpleasant  odor  or  taste  to  the 
starter,  it  should  not,  of  course,  be  used.  No  matter 
how  careful  you  may  be  this  sometimes  happens.  It 
is  advisable  to  have  two  or  three  jars  of  starter  going 


46      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

at  the  same  time  so  that  you  will  not  have  to  wait  24 
hours  for  another  one. 

When  ripening  your  cream  in  a  Minnetonna  Home 
Creamery,  put  the  cream  in  the  barrel  first,  then  pour 
in  the  starter.  This  gives  the  starter  a  better  chance 
to  become  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  cream. 

When  the  cream  has  soured  to  the  point  where  it  is 
just  about  the  same  taste  as  the  starter,  it  is  just 
where  you  want  it  and  should  be  cooled  down  to 
churning  temperature. 


OF  THE 
\      COLLEGE  OF 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Butter  Color 

When  and  How  to  Use  Color. 

COLOR  should  be  added  to  cream  before  it  is 
churned.     The  amount  of  color  will  depend 
upon  the  market,  kinds  of  cows  milked,  time 
of  year  and  kind  of  feed  used.    The  cream  from  Jer- 
sey or  Guernsey  herds  usually  need  little,  if  any  color. 
Holstein  and  other  breeds  produce  white  butter  and 
color  must  be  used  to  get  an  even  color.     This  will 
have  to  be  governed  to  meet  conditions  by  the  one 
who  churns. 

For  mixed  herds,  in  winter,  add  one  teaspoonful  of 
color  to  each  5  gallons  of  cream  testing  from  18  to 
25%  butterfat;  and  one  and  one-half  teaspoonfuls  for 
cream  testing  from  25  to  35%  butterfat.  No  color 
need  be  used  when  cows  are  on  full  grass,  unless  dur- 
ing a  very  dry  season. 

Should  you  forget  to  add  the  color  to  the  cream  be- 
fore churning,  you  may  include  it  with  the  salt  just 
before  working  the  butter.  First  add  the  color  to  the 
dry  salt,  mixing  it  thoroughly, — then  add  the  mixture 
to  the  butter  and  proceed  with  the  working.  Be  care- 
ful not  to  spill  any  of  the  color  or  colored  salt  mix- 
ture on  the  shelf  or  rollers  in  the  barrel.  Color  should 
be  mixed  with  salt  only  when  it  is  dry,  never  with  wet 
salt. 

47 


48      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

Do  not  allow  butter  color  to  freeze,  as  this  causes 
specks  in  butter. 

Sometimes  we  get  butter  color  from  the  stores  that 
has  been  on  hand  for  years,  and  has  lost  its  strength 
or  has  been  adulterated  and  is  of  no  value.  When 
buying  color  get  it  as  fresh  as  possible  and  from  re- 
liable companies.  Old  color  imparts  a  rancid  oily 
flavor  to  butter. 

The  color  should  be  the  shade  of  yellow  which  is 
produced  when  the  cows  are  in  the  pasture  in  the  early 
part  of  summer.  The  color  should  be  uniform,  that  is, 
not  mottled  or  streaked.  Uneven  color  is  usually 
caused  by  the  salt  not  being  thoroughly  distributed, 
and  in  this  way  indicates  too  little  working.  If  the 
color  is  decidedly  too  high  or  too  low  it  would  be 
counted  a  defect  even  though  it  be  uniform. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Churning 

CHURNING  is  the  process  of  turning  the  butter 
granules  in  cream  into  butter  by  some  form 
of   agitation  —  stirring,    shaking,    lifting   and 
dropping,  etc.     It  was  discovered  by  the  Egyptians 
several  centuries  ago,  while  carrying  goats5  milk  in 
skin  sacks  on  camels'  backs.    The  shaking  of  the  sacks 
for  many  hours  on  long  journeys  caused  the  milk  to 
churn  into  butter. 

Science  has  adopted  certain  principles  in  churning 
cream  that  have  made  it  easier,  quicker  and  more  ex- 
haustive or  "cleaner."  By  exhaustive  or  "clean"  churn- 
ing is  meant  that  all  of  the  butterfat  globules  in  the 
cream  are  turned  into  butter.  By  the  more  primitive 
methods  of  churning  a  considerable  per  cent  of  the 
butterfat  remained  in  the  buttermilk  after  the  churn- 
ing and  therefore  was  lost  as  far  as  its  most  valuable 
and  profitable  use  was  concerned.  A  machine  having 
shelves  and  roll  will  churn  faster  and  cleaner  than  the 
old-fashioned  box  or  barrel  churn  because  the  cream  is 
more  thoroughly  agitated.  These  scientific  principles 
and  many  others  are  embodied  in  the  Minnetonna 
Home  Creamery.  Therein  lies  its  -efficiency. 

Temperature  at  Which  to  Churn. 

This  depends  on  several  conditions,  but  cream 
should  never  be  above  62  degrees  or  below  52  degrees 

49 


50      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

for  home  creamery  buttermaking.  (See  table  on  tem- 
peratures). When  cream  is  put  into  churn  it  will  be 
noticed  that  the  temperature  will  rise  during  the  churn- 
ing process,  as  much  as  4  degrees.  This  is  caused  by 
the  agitation  friction.  This  occurs  especially  in  warm 
weather. 

The  following  table  shows  the  different  tempera- 
tures at  which  cream  can  be  churned  at  different  sea- 
sons with  different  percentages  of  fat  in  cream: 


Test 

Spring 

Summer 

Autumn 

Winter 

30 

52-56 

52-56 

58-60 

58-60 

28 

54-58 

52-56 

58-60 

58-60 

26 

54-58 

54-58 

58-60 

60-60 

24 

56-60 

54-53 

58-60 

60-61 

22 

58-60 

56-58 

58-60 

60-62 

20 

58-61 

56-60 

60-60 

62-62 

18 

60-62 

57-60 

60-62 

62-62 

In  very  cold  weather  or  when  using  cream  from 
cows  long  in  lactation  period  or  fed  on  dry  feed,  you 
can  safely  churn  at  62  degrees  F. ;  and  in  warm 
weather  or  where  the  cows  are  fresh  and  fed  on  green 
feed,  you  may  go  down  to  52  degrees  F. ;  but  these 
are  conditions  the  person  on  the  job  must  look  into  for 
himself. 

The  best  way  to  discover  the  proper  temperature 
would  be  to  take  the  temperature  at  different  times 
and  then  stick  to  the  one  which  obtained  the  best  re- 
sults. 

It  takes  a  little  longer  to  churn  at  a  low  temperature 
than  it  does  at  a  high  one,  but  so  much  better  butter 
can  be  made  where  you  churn  at  a  low  one  that  we 
strongly  advise  it.  If  it  is  churned  at  about  60  degrees 
the  butter  should  break  in  from  15  to  25  minutes,  or 
if  at  52  degrees  in  from  25  to  40  minutes. 


Churning  51 


If  churned  at  too  high  a  temperature — higher  than 
58  degrees  in  summer  or  62  degrees  in  winter — the 
butter  is  likely  to  have  a  greasy  appearance.  If 
churned  at  too  low  a  temperature — less  than  52  degrees 
in  summer  or  58  degrees  in  winter — the  butter  will  be 
hard  and  often  incomplete  and  will  not  hold  much 
moisture,  in  that  way  reducing  the  overrun. 

Directions  for  Operating  the  Minnetonna 
Home  Creamery. 

It  is  best  not  to  fill  the  barrel  over  half  full — and 
many  find  that  the  best  results  are  obtained  when  the 
barrel  is  less  than  one-third  full. 

The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  more  the  cream  is 
agitated,  the  quicker  the  butter  is  made  and  the  better 
the  butter  that  results.  And  when  the  barrel  is  too 
full  the  agitation  is  not  as  thorough  as  necessary 
to  produce  the  best  results. 

Furthermore,  the  barrel  should  be  operated  at  the 
speed  given  in  the  special  directions  for  the  type  of 
Minnetonna  Home  Creamery  you  possess.  (See  spe- 
cial directions  in  the  back  of  this  book.) 

If  the  barrel  is  operated  slower  than  directed,  the 
butter  will  not  come  as  quickly  as  desired. 

If  it  is  turned  too  rapidly  the  cream  will  cling  to 
the  sides  and  part  of  the  butter  will  be  lost. 

There  are  several  methods  of  telling  when  the  churn- 
ing is  complete,  but  the  best  and  simplest  way  is  to 
note  the  size  of  the  flaky  granules,  which  should  be 
shaggy  and  the  size  of  kernels  of  corn. 

Notice  carefully  the  little  glass  peep-hole  in  the  side 
of  the  barrel.  During  the  churning  this  little  round 
glass  is  always  milk-wet.  The  very  first  time  the  glass 


52      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

clears  entirely  the  butter  has  come  and  the  churning 
process  is  over.  You  are  then  ready  to  draw  off  the 
buttermilk — wash,  salt  and  work  the  butter  as  per  in- 
structions. 

Over-churning. — When  we  agitate  cream  we  break 
up  the  casein  or  curd  part  of  the  cream  and  cause 
the  butterfat  globules  contained  in  the  cream  to  unite 
and  form  granules.  These  little  granules  contain  sev- 
eral thousand  fat  globules.  They  will  multiply  very 
fast  in  size  after  formed  in  the  churn,  and  great  care 
and  precaution  should  be  taken  not  to  over-churn  them 
and  form  them  in  a  solid  mass.  This  is  very  detrimen- 
tal to  good  buttermaking.  Over-churning  affects  the 
flavor  of  butter,  the  body  or  texture  and  the  color,  as 
it  is  impossible  to  remove  the  buttermilk  from  over- 
churned  butter. 

Slow  churning  is  caused  by  having  too  much  cream 
in  the  churn  or  having  cream  at  too  low  a  temperature 
or  not  sufficiently  ripened.  When  cream  is  not  ripe 
the  casein  or  curd  is  tough  and  it  will  not  break  so 
the  fat  globules  can  unite.  Such  cream  can  be  churned 
for  several  hours  before  the  butter  will  form.  It  will 
not  churn  until  the  agitation  and  friction  warms  the 
cream  so  that  the  fat  globules  can  unite.  When  the 
butter  finally  does  come,  it  will  be  soft,  slushy  and 
greasy — poor  butter.  This  often  occurs  from  old  milk 
cows  fed  on  dry  feed.  To  avoid  this  trouble,  ripen 
more  and  raise  the  temperature  on  ripening  and  churn- 
ing. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Washing,  Working,  Salting,  Packing 

Drawing  off  Buttermilk. 

WHEN  the  churning  is  done,  open  the  faucet 
at  the  bottom  of  the  barrel  to  draw  off  the 
buttermilk.  This  should  be  done  as  soon  as 
the  churning  is  complete.  It  is  important  to  leave  the 
faucet  open  as  long  as  the  buttermilk  runs  out.  The 
faucet  connects  with  a  strainer  tube  made  of  perforated 
metal,  which  prevents  the  loss  of  any  butterfat  par- 
ticles. Next,  close  the  faucet  and  pour  some  clean, 
cold  water  into  the  barrel.  After  8  to  10  turns  of  the 
barrel  on  slow  speed,  draw  off  this  water  and  the  butter 
is  then  thoroughly  cleansed  of  buttermilk  and  ready  to 
work.  Buttermilk,  if  left  in  the  butter,  has  a  tendency 
to  cause  it  to  sour  and  spoil.  Under  the  old  method 
of  making  butter  it  was  very  difficult,  and  at  times 
impossible,  to  get  out  all  of  the  buttermilk. 
Washing. 

The  butter  should  be  washed  with  water  from  2  to 
10  degrees  colder  than  the  buttermilk  and  twice  as 
much  water  used  as  buttermilk  in  small  machines. 
Great  care  should  be  taken  as  to  the  temperature  of 
the  wash  water.  When  buttermilk  has  a  tempera- 
ture of  62  or  above,  the  wash  water  can  be  50  F.  When 
buttermilk  is  below  60,  the  water  can  be  2  to  4  degrees 
lower  than  the  buttermilk. 

53 


54      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

If  the  wash  water,  when  drawn  off,  is  not  clear  but 
is  quite  milky,  the  butter  should  be  washed  again. 
Use  water  a  few  degrees  lower  than  the  butter  and 
about  half  as  much  as  the  first  wash.  Washing  the 
butter  improves  its  flavor  and  keeping  qualities.  Be 
sure  to  have  pure  water,  for  impure  water  might  have 
more  undesirable  effects  than  the  buttermilk. 

Salting  Butter. 

First  mix  the  salt  in  enough  water  so  that  the  dirt 
will  rise  to  the  top.  Then  pour  off  the  water  until  the 
dirt  is  removed,  thus  washing  the  salt.  In  winter  the 
water  used  for  this  purpose  should  be  just  warm 
enough  so  that  the  chill  is  off — about  68  to  70  degrees. 
In  summer  it  should  be  straight  from  the  pump,  as  cold 
as  possible. 

Next,  take  the  ladle,  make  a  trough  in  the  roll  of 
butter  that  lies  on  the  shelf  in  the  barrel,  add  salt,  dis- 
tributing it  evenly  from  one  end  of  the  butter  mass  to 
the  other. 

Home-made  creamery  butter  can  be  salted  higher 
than  butter  for  New  York  market.  Use  two  ounces 
of  salt  to  one  pound  of  butter  to  be  made. 

To  determine  ultimate  amount  of  butter  to  be  made 
from  given  batch  of  cream,  add  one-fifth  to  weight  of 
butterfat. 

For  example:  50  Ibs.  cream  testing  30%  requires  36  oz. 
salt. 

50  Ibs.  cream  testing  30%  equals  15  Ibs.  butterfat. 

H  of  15  equals  3  Ibs.  3  Ibs.  added  to  15  equals  18  Ibs.  butter. 

2  oz.  salt  to  Ib.  butter  2x18  equals  36  oz.  salt. 

Over  Salting. 

When  too  much  salt  has  been  used,  the  percentage 
can  be  decreased  by  adding  cold  water,  working  a  few 


Washing,  Working,  Salting,  Packing  55 

revolutions  and  draining  off.  This  should  not  be  done 
until  the  working-  process  is  nearly  finished.  Great 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  add  too  much  water  or 
wash  too  much  so  as  to  reduce  the  salt  too  much. 

Caution. 

Never  use  coarse  barrel  salt  for  butter.  It  will  not 
dissolve,  but  leave  the  butter  gritty  and  mottled.  Never 
use  table  salt.  It  is  too  fine  and  will  wash  out.  Use 
only  butter  salt  made  for  this  purpose.  The  best  is 
none  too  good,  as  salting  is  a  particular  part  of  butter- 
making. 

There  are  several  brands  of  salt  on  the  market  made 
especially  for  butter  that  do  not  cost  any  more  than 
the  salt  that  you  buy  at  the  grocery  store.  We  advise 
using  one  of  these,  as  they  are  far  better  for  the  pur- 
pose and  just  as  good  for  other  purposes. 

The  salt  should  be  the  same  temperature  as  the  wash 
water  and  can  be  made  so  by  mixing  with  water,  which 
will  also  dissolve  it  to  a  certain  extent  and  cause  it 
to  mix  better  with  butter.  Never  use  dry  salt,  as  it 
takes  too  long  to  properly  incorporate  it  into  the  but- 
ter, with  the  result  that  your  butter  is  overworked 
and  becomes  greasy. 

Working  Butter. 

Butter  should  be  worked  until,  when  broken,  it 
shows  a  grain  like  a  broken  piece  of  steel  —  a  long 
grain.  Butter  should  have  a  firm,  waxy  body,  not 
brittle  or  short-grained.  Butter  can  be  worked  from 
20  to  35  revolutions  without  hurting  grain  or  texture, 
especially  if  body  is  cold  and  firm.  Great  care  must 


56      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

be  taken  to  see  that  the  salt  is  thoroughly  worked  in,  so 
it  is  not  gritty. 

You  can  tell  by  looking  at  the  butter  when  it  has 
been  worked  sufficiently.  When  the  butter  has  been 
thoroughly  worked  you  will  find  it  all  in  a  solid,  com- 
pact mass  or  roll  on  the  shelf,  and  it  can  be  lifted  out 
of  the  barrel  in  one  piece,  by  hand,  or  you  can  lift  the 
shelf  out  and  the  butter  with  it. 

The  objects  of  working  butter  are:  First,  to  dis- 
tribute the  salt ;  second,  to  bring  the  butter  into  com- 
pact form ;  and  lastly,  to  incorporate  the  moisture 
to  the  desired  proportion  of  16%. 

Value  of  Salt  and  Moisture  in  Butter. 

Butter  containing  a  good  percentage  of  moisture 
and  salt  will  keep  longer.  Fifteen  to  16  per  cent  mois- 
ture and  2  to  3  per  cent  salt  are  better  than  dry,  lightly 
salted  butter,  as  the  water  and  salt  form  a  brine  pickle 
that  preserves  and  keeps  butter  fresh  and  sweet. 

When  we  incorporate  15  to  16  per  cent  moisture 
and  3  per  cent  of  salt  we  can  make  considerably  more 
money  than  if  we  have  light  moisture  and  salt.  Every 
pound  of  water  and  salt  we  add  to  butterfat  increases 
the  value  of  our  butterfat.  Here  is  where  a  rightly 
constructed  buttermaking  machine  like  the  Minne- 
tonna  Home  Creamery  makes  more  money  for  the 
dairyman. 

The  Overrun. 

Butterfat  and  butter  are  not  the  same  thing.  All 
butter  contains  butterfat,  but  there  are  other  things  in 
butter  besides  butterfat. 


Washing,  Working,  Salting,  Packing  57 

The  butterfat  of  cream,  as  determined  by  the 
Babcock  butterfat  test  (used  by  all  creamery  men  and 
cream  buyers)  is  pure  butter  oil.  Butter  on  the  other 
hand,  is  a  mixture  of  butter  oil,  water,  curd,  salt  and 
ash.  The  average  composition  of  butter  is  approxi- 
mately as  follows : 

Butterfat    80.25  per  cent 

Water   15.00  per  cent 

Curd    75  per  cent 

Salt    3.50  per  cent 

Ash,  acid,  etc 50  per  cent 

Thus  80  pounds  of  butterfat  makes  about  100  pounds 
of  butter,  after  the  proper  amount  of  moisture  and  salt 
have  been  worked  in.  The  curd,  ash,  etc.,  are  already 
in  the  cream, — the  small  amount  that  is  usually  found 
in  the  butter  when  chemically  analyzed  is  the  amount 
that  is  not  lost  in  the  churning  process. 

Now  let's  see  what  this  "over-run"  means  in  the 
way  of  profit.  The  difference  between  80  pounds  and 
100  pounds  is  20  pounds.  Twenty  pounds  is  one- 
fourth  of  80,  or  25%.  This  means  25%  more  for  your 
cream  in  the  form  of  butter,  just  on  account  of  the 
"over-run"  alone,  to  say  nothing  of  the  possibility  of 
getting  higher  prices  for  your  butter  than  the  cream- 
ery gets  for  theirs. 

Packing  Butter. 

If  jars  or  tubs  are  used  they  should  be  filled  with 
cold  water  and  allowed  to  swell  up  and  cool  off  be- 
fore they  are  used,  so  that  when  the  butter  is  packed 
in  them,  it  will  not  melt  around  the  edges. 

The  most  marketable  form  in  which  to  put  up  but- 
ter is  in  one  pound  prints.  There  are  two  types  of 


58      Hozv  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

butter-printing  machine,  one  operated  by  hand  and 
the  other  has  a  lever  which  hastens  the  work  and  for 
a  large  dairy  would  be  preferable.  Both  types  have 
loose  bottoms,  that  is,  the  bottoms  can  be  removed  and 
the  print  of  butter  will  come  out. 

When  the  butter  is  printed  it  should  be  wrapped  in 
parchment  paper,  which  is  air-  and  moisture-proof  and 
preserves  the  butter  to  a  great  extent. 

The  Minnetonna  Company  can  supply  printers, 
parchment  paper  cartons  and  shipping  boxes.  Read 
their  dairy  supply  catalog. 


Limited   Capacity.  Full  Capacity. 

These  cross  section  views  show  how  the  butter  is  worked  in  the  Minne- 
tonna Home  Creamery — the  large  working  roll  revolves  and  forces  the  but- 
ter down  between  itself  and  the  idle  roll  in  the  lower  end  of  the  shelf. 
By  simply  slipping  the  shelf  into  either  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  sets  of 
pegs,  you  have  the  proper  adjustment  for  working  a  small  or  a  large 
quantity  of  butter. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Buttermaking  Troubles  and  their  Causes 

What  Causes  Short  Grain  Butter. 
REEZING  cream. 


F 


Not  working  enough. 

Churning  too  warm. 
Churning  too  cold. 
Over-working  butter. 
Freezing  butter  after  made. 

What  Causes  Streaked  or  Mottled  Butter. 

Uneven  working. 

Putting  cold  salt  into  butter  that  is  warm. 

Not  putting  salt  in  evenly. 

Not  working  enough. 

Putting  in  dry  salt  that  does  not  dissolve. 

What  Makes  Butter  Salvy. 

Overchurning  butter. 

Overworking  butter. 

Churning  cream  at  too  high  temperature. 

What  Causes  Bitter  Butter. 

Old  stale  cream. 
Ripening  cream  too  slow. 

Holding  cream  at  ripening  temperature  too  long. 
59 


60      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

Where  Cattle  Run  Outside. 

Feeding  large  quantities  of  oat  straw. 

Cows  during  long  period  of  lactation    (old  milk 

cows) . 

Feeding  rutabagas  before  milking. 
Eating  corn  stalks. 

What  Causes  Flat  Flavor. 

Not  ripening  cream  enough. 
Churning  sweet  cream. 
Not  using  salt  enough. 

What  Causes  Gritty  Butter. 

Using  too  much  salt. 

Using  salt  dry  and  cold. 

Using  coarse-grained  salt.    (Never  use  any  kind 

of  salt  other  than  regular  butter  salt). 
Using  too  cold  water  to  wash  butter. 
Not  having  salt  dissolved  in  butter. 
Not  working  butter  enough. 

What  Causes  Low  "Over-Run." 

Churning  too  warm — heavy  loss  of  butterfat  in 

buttermilk. 

Churning  too  cold — having  hard  small  granules. 
Not  incorporating  moisture  in  butter. 

THE  DEFECTS  IN  MILK  AND  CREAM  WHICH 
CAUSE  TROUBLE. 

From  Flavors. 

Absorbed  from  air.     Poor  ventilation. 
Stables  unclean. 


Buttermaking  Troubles  and  Their  Causes          61 

Milkhouse  unsanitary. 
Kitchen  flavors  from  cooking. 
Keeping  in  ice  chest  with  vegetables. 

From  Chemical  Action. 

Sour. 

Bitter. 

Gassy. 

Rapey. 

Thick  coagulated. 

From  Cow. 

Unhealthy. 
Character  of  feed. 

Resulting  Butter. 

Rancid. 

Sour. 

Bitter. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Care  and  Operation  of  The  Minne- 
tonna  Home  Creamery 

WARNING 

Be  Sure  to  Soak  the  Barrel  of  Your  Home  Creamery 

With  Hot  Water  Before  Making 

Butter  the  First  Time 

YOUR  Home  Creamery  may    have   been  in   the 
warehouse  or  stock  room  for  some  time. 
Unless  you  soak  the  barrel  thoroughly  with 
hot  water,  it  may  leak  both  at  the  cover  and  perhaps 
in  the  heads. 

First :  Fill  the  barrel  with  hot  water,  put  the  cover 
on,  turn  up  door  buttons  (Casting  No.  209).  You  can 
also  tighten  cover  at  door  strap  loops  No.  218,  by  turn- 
ing down  set  screw. 

Be  sure  to  loosen  straps  or  bands  at  hoop  lug  No. 
215  a  trifle.  The  hot  water  makes  the  barrel  swell  and 
if  straps  are  not  loosened  a  trifle,  the  heads  may 
bulge. 

And  remember  to  do  this  also :  When  you  are  soak- 
ing the  barrel  turn  the  barrel  over  with  the  cover 
down  so  the  cork  will  swell.  When  the  cork  is  thor- 
oughly soaked  it  becomes  very  pliable  and  will  not  re- 
quire a  great  deal  of  strain  on  the  door  buttons  in 
order  to  tighten  the  joint. 

62 


Care  and  Operation  of  Minnetonna  Home  Creamery  63 

Give  the  barrel  a  good  thorough  soaking.  Keep  in 
the  hot  water  until  there  is  not  the  slightest  sign  of  a 
leak  at  cover  or  in  heads. 

Let  the  Barrel  Cool  Off  Itself.     Do  Not  Use  Cold 
Water  to  Cool  the  Barrel. 

As  soon  as  the  barrel  is  completely  cooled  off, 
tighten  the  barrel  straps.  If  the  cover  is  too  tight, 
loosen  it  easily  at  strap  loops  No.  218. 

Follow  these  instructions  and  the  barrel  will  not 
leak.  If  you  churn  twice  each  week  it  will  probably 
not  be  necessary  to  ever  soak  barrel  again,  but  should 
barrel  leak  at  any  time,  due  perhaps  to  the  fact  that 
you  may  not  have  used  it  for  a  long  time,  all  you  need 
to  do  is  to  soak  it  again  according  to  these  instruc- 
tions. 

Be  sure  that  roll  screw  No.  283  is  turned  into  place. 

If  you  have  any  trouble  write  and  tell  us  about  it 
and  we  will  tell  you  what  to  do. 

SPECIAL   DIRECTIONS   FOR   OPERATING 

MINNETONNA  HOME  CREAMERY. 

Sizes  3A  and  2C. 

Before  starting  to  churn,  see  that  the  front  and  rear 
bearings  are  properly  oiled;  also  oil  No.  254  gear  on 
eccentric  shaft. 

When  the  machine  is  operated  by  hand,  the  speed  for 
churning  with  heavy  cream  should  be  not  more  than 
30  revolutions  per  minute;  but  with  light  cream  as 
fast  as  40  revolutions  per  minute. 

To  get  the  working  speed,  throw  the  eccentric  lever 
to  the  left  and  turn  the  crank  handle,  at  the  same 


64      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

speed  as  when  churning,  and  the  barrel  will  revolve 
at  the  proper  speed  for  working. 

To  put  the  worker  roll  into  motion,  throw  the  stop 
button  on  the  leg  over  far  enough  to  come  in  contact 
with  the  extension  on  the  internal  gear,  which  will 
hold  the  internal  gear  stationary  and  cause  the  pinion 
to  revolve  on  the  inside  of  the  larger  gear,  thus  turning 
the  worker.  When  the  machine  is  operated  by  power, 
the  speed  for  churning  is  regulated  by  the  speed  of 
the  pulley,  which  should  run  about  2CO  revolutions  per 
minute. 

For  working  the  butter  the  eccentric  lever  is  thrown 
to  the  left  and  the  stop  button  turned  to  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  extension  on  the  internal  gear  as  de- 
scribed above. 

When  the  machine  is  furnished  for  power  and  power 
is  not  used,  remove  the  drive  chain  from  the  large 
sprocket,  before  using  for  hand  power. 

Do  not  change  the  speed  from  slow  to  high  when 
the  machine  is  running,  as  there  is  a  possibility  of 
breaking  the  gear  clutch. 

Do  not  keep  tightening  the  door  button  nuts  unless 
they  work  loose,  for  they  do  not  pull  the  buttons  any 
closer  to  the  strap. 

The  capacity  of  all  sizes  of  the  Minnetonna  Home 
Creamery  is  figured  on  30  per  cent  cream  with  the 
barrel  half  full. 

Be  sure  to  wash  the  barrel,  shelf  and  worker  roll 
with  scalding  water  when  through  churning.  Dry 
the  barrel  with  the  door  removed  and  the  door  open- 
ing turned  down. 

After  churning  for  a  short  time,  the  vent  should 
be  opened  to  allow  the  gas,  which  forms,  to  escape. 


Care  and  Operation  of  Minnetonna  Home  Creamery  65 

The  spiral  spring  must  be  on  main  shaft  outside  of 
sprocket  wheel  No.  255.  If  inside  the  gears  will  not 
mesh  on  high  speed. 

To  take  roll  out  of  barrel  loosen  thumbscrew  or 
roll  end  key.  The  shelf  lifts  out  of  barrel  by  simply 
moving  wooden  latch. 

SPECIAL  INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  MINNETONNA 
HOME  CREAMERY.     ALL  NO.  1  STYLES. 

Be  sure  to  oil  all  the  bearing  boxes  and  sprockets 
well  before  starting  to  work  the  machine.  Also  see 
that  the  pulley  grease  cup  is  filled  with  hard  oil,  so 
that  you  will  have  no  trouble  with  cut  bearings. 

The  lever  on  the  upper  shaft  is  used  only  to  throw 
the  roll  into  motion  when  working  the  butter. 

The  clutch  lever  on  the  lower  shaft  when  thrown 
to  the  left  places  the  gearing  in  high  speed  or  churn- 
ing speed.  When  thrown  to  the  right  it  places  the 
gearing  in  slow  speed  or  working  speed. 

The  pulley  lever  when  thrown  to  the  left  expands 
the  friction  in  the  pulley  and  starts  the  churn  in 
motion. 

The  friction  pulley  is  the  most  practicable  churn 
pulley  in  use,  and  is  the  most  simple  to  operate  and 
adjust.  Each  friction  is  adjusted  before  leaving  the 
factory,  but  as  the  wearing  blocks  wear  away,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  force  these  blocks  closer  to  the  pulley 
rim  by  screwing  up  the  set  screws  in  the  friction  arms 
under  the  blocks. 

The  pulley  should  run  at  150  R.  P.  M.  The  barrel 
will  then  revolve  30  times  a  minute  with  the  clutch 
thrown  in  churning  speed,  which  is  the  proper  speed 
to  give  satisfactory  results.  The  clutch  thrown  to 


66      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

working  speed  will  revolve  the  barrel  7  R.  P.  M. 
Throw  the  roll  clutch  in  and  the  worker  roll  revolves 
12  times  to  every  revolution  of  the  barrel. 

If  you  have  any  trouble,  or  if  there  is  anything  you 
do  not  understand,  write  us. 

A  churn  should  be  scalded  with  boiling  water  just 
as  soon  as  the  butter  is  removed.  Use  2  to  4  pails 
if  you  have  a  small  size  Minnetonna,  and  enough  to 
make  about  one-third  full  if  you  have  a  large  size. 
Run  1  to  5  minutes  if  large  size  and  1  to  2  minutes 
if  small  size.  Always  put  roll  in  gear  while  running 
and  be  sure  to  run  on  high  speed.  After  this  has 
been  done  drain  off  boiling  water.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary in  some  cases  to  rinse  twice  with  boiling  water. 

To  Clean  Old  Barrel  in  Bad  Condition. 

Use  a  quart  of  sulphuric  acid.  Mix  one-third  full 
of  water  at  a  temperature  of  130  degrees,  close  door 
tight,  run  for  5  minutes,  draw  off  water;  run  churn 
one-quarter  full  boiling  water,  add  from  1  to  5  pounds 
of  sal-soda  or  Wyandotte  washing  powder;  run  30 
revolutions  on  high  speed;  then  rinse  a  few  times 
with  boiling  water.  Then  run  with  cold  salt  water, 
using  5  to  10  pounds  of  salt  in  cold  water. 

To  Sweeten  a  Sour  Barrel. 

Use  one-half  quart  of  slacked  lime  mixed  with  water, 
temperature  of  85  degrees,  run  churn  and  leave  in 
several  hours.  Draw  off  and  rinse  with  boiling  water 
twice;  then  run  or  soak  with  cold  salt  water. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

How  to  Make  Cottage  Cheese 

Buttermilk  Cottage  Cheese. 

SET  buttermilk  in  a  can  at  temperature  from  85 
to  90  degrees;  let  it  stand  until  curd  settles  to 
the  bottom  of  the  can,  pour  off  one-half  of  whey. 
Then  place  can  in  boiling  water,  raise  temperature 
to  between  130  and  140  degrees;  hold  at  this  temper- 
ature for  15  minutes  without  stirring.  Pour  into  a 
clean  sugar  sack  and  drain  off  whey,  wash  with  water 
at  a  temperature  of  90  to  100  degrees  by  pouring  water 
over  cheese  in  sack.  Drain  water  off  by  twisting  sack 
with  a  stick.  It  is  necessary  to  wash  well  and  drain 
dry  so  as  to  remove  all  whey  from  the  curd.  Salt  one- 
quarter  ounce  butter-salt  to  pound  of  cheese.  Add 
sweet  cream  when  ready  to  serve.  This  makes  good 
cottage  cheese  and  from  6  to  8  pounds  can  be  made 
from  100  pounds  of  buttermilk. 

Skimmed  Milk  Cottage  Cheese. 

Set  skimmed  milk  in  a  can  at  temperature  between 
75  and  90  degrees.  Let  it  set  at  this  temperature  until 
it  becomes  thick  and  sour  (coagulated).  Then  place 
the  can  into  boiling  water.  Raise  temperature  of  the 
sour  milk  to  110  degrees,  stirring  gently  not  to  break 
curd  up  too  fine.  Cook  at  this  temperature  from  15 

67 


68      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

to  20  minutes.  When  curd  begins  to  get  firmer  pour 
into  a  clean  sugar  sack  and  let  the  whey  drain  off. 
Then  wash  the  curd  by  pouring  a  small  amount  of 
water  into  sack  at  a  temperature  of  85  to  90  degrees. 
This  will  remove  rancid  flavor.  Salt  at  the  rate  of 
one-half  teaspoonful  of  salt  to  pound  of  cheese;  then 
keep  in  a  cool  place  until  ready  to  serve.  When  serv- 
ing, add  a  little  sweet  cream  and  work  with  a  long 
spoon.  This  gives  the  cheese  a  fine  texture.  Never 
add  cream  until  ready  to  serve  as  the  acids  in  the 
cheese  will  cause  curd  to  become  sour,  especially  in 
hot  weather  after  cream  has  been  added. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  to  Produce 
the  Largest  and  Richest  Milk  Yields 

Importance  of  Proper  Care  and  Feeding. 

It  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of  cows  as  it  is  a  matter 
of  care. 

Recent  investigations  have  proven  that  even  com- 
mon cows  are  capable  of  producing  much  larger  yields 
than  those  secured  by  the  average  farmer. 

One  of  our  large  state  universities  has  in  its  dairy 
herd  a  number  of  common  cows. 

It  has  been  proven  that  these  common  cows — and 
by  common  cows  it  is  meant  cows  having  no  dairy 
heredity — can  be  induced  to  greatly  increase  their  year- 
ly yield.  The  average  yield  from  these  common  cows, 
over  records  taken  each  year  for  twenty-three  years, 
is  5,000  pounds  of  milk  and  222  pounds  of  butter. 

If  we  figure  the  butter  at  the  rate  of  thirty  cents 
per  pound,  it  means  that  the  product  of  each  cow  has 
a  value  of  $66.60  for  butter  alone.  Since  the  average 
yield  of  the  common  cow  is  $46.40  according  to  aver- 
age statistics,  this  certainly  proves  that  care  and  proper 
feeding  will  induce  the  average  cow  to  yield  $20.20 
more  per  year. 

The  foregoing  must  not  be  misunderstood.  It  is 
not  in  any  way  a  disparagement  of  the  practice  of 

69 


70      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

purchasing  blooded  cattle,  or  of  the  practice  of  grading 
up  the  herd.  It  is  simply  a  statement  of  a  fact.  And 
that  fact  is  that  proper  care  and  feeding  is  most  essen- 
tial if  one  is  to  derive  the  most  profit  from  the  milk- 
making  machine  known  as  a  cow. 

Proper  breeding  is,  of  course,  essential,  but  proper 
handling  and  proper  feeding  are  also  most  essential 
if  one  is  to  pocket  the  most  profit  from  his  dairy  herd. 

Weeding  Out  "Boarders." 

It  does  not  cost  any  more  to  keep  good  cows  than 
poor  cows  and  the  returns  from  the  good  cows  at  the 
end  of  the  year  greatly  exceed  the  returns  from  ordi- 
nary cows  during  the  same  period. 

The  first  time  this  matter  is  brought  right  home  to 
the  dairy  farmer  and  figured  out  for  him,  comparisons 
made,  the  Babcock  test  used  and  the  better  cows  se- 
lected from  the  ordinary  ones  in  the  herd,  he  is  usually 
dumfounded  and  amazed,  and  when  you  still  figure 
and  add  up  the  number  of  dollars  that  have  been  lost 
and  wasted  year  after  year,  due  to  the  fact  that  he 
has  been  wasting  good  feed  and  good  pasture  land 
on  ordinary,  non-producing,  no-profit  cows,  he  is 
speechless. 

Grade  cows  are  not  a  necessity.  If  you  are  just 
starting  in  the  dairy  business,  chances  are  you  can't 
afford  to  spend  a  lot  of  money  for  high-priced  cows. 
The  best  plan  is  to  grade  up,  weed  out  the  poor  cows, 
the  heavy  feeders  that  are  poor  milkers,  add  a  good 
tested  cow  to  your  herd  whenever  you  can  economi- 
cally, and  you  will  come  out  all  right.  Keep  cow 
records.  Be  sure  you  are  getting  a  run  for  your 
money. 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  71 

How  to  Grade  Up  Herds. 

The  most  satisfactory  method  of  grading  up  a  herd 
is  that  of  using  a  pure-bred  sire  with  the  cows  now  in 
your  herd. 

This  sire  should  be  selected  very  carefully. 

Best  results  are  found  to  be  obtained  from  the  sons 
of  heavy-milking  dams.  One  of  the  best  tests  for 
such  a  sire  is  the  fact  that  he  is  already  credited  with 
the  production  of  heavy-milking  offspring. 

The  finest  bred  bull,  if  young,  is  always  more  or  less 
of  a  gamble.  He  may  produce  splendid  milking  off- 
spring, but  again  he  may  not.  Pedigree  does  not  alone 
assure  that.  Judge  him  by  his  products.  However, 
a  properly  pedigreed  animal  is  usually  to  be  relied 
upon  in  this  respect. 

One  good  rule  to  follow  is  not  to  dispose  of  a  satis- 
factory bull  until  you  have  found  a  superior  bull  to 
take  his  place.  Judge  that  superiority  solely  by  the 
fact  that  the  new  bull  has  produced  offspring  of  greater 
milk-producing  capacity. 

The  only  way  on  earth  that  you  will  ever  be  able 
to  grade  up  your  herd  is  to  use  a  pure-bred  sire.  Ex- 
perts do  not  recommend  grade  sires.  Their  help  in 
grading  up  the  herd  is  not  certain,  nor  is  it  rapid. 
Grade  sires  quite  frequently  transmit  to  their  offspring 
some  of  the  undesirable  qualities  inherited  from  their 
low-grade  ancestors.  Sometimes  this  not  only  retards 
the  progress  of  the  grade  of  your  herd,  but  actually 
sets  it  back. 

Any  farmer  using  a  pure-bred  sire  can  reasonably 
expect  that  each  succeeding  generation  of  grade  heifers 
will  produce  more  heavily  than  their  dams. 

Don't  guess  on  this  point.     Keep  a  record  of  each 


72      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

cow's  product.  Have  as  your  ambition  a  yearly  av- 
erage milk  yield  of  more  than  4,000  pounds  per  cow. 

Most  dairymen  who  have  taken  this  as  their  aim 
have  surpassed  this  point. 

And  it  pays. 

What  Grading  Has  Done  in  Other  Instances. 

We  quote  the  following  from  a  table  compiled  to 
show  how  experience  has  proved  that  a  pure-bred 
sire  will  grade  up  a  mixed  or  common  herd  of  cows 
into  practically  pure-bred  dairy  animals : 

Calves  of  first  generation  contain  50  %  pure  blood. 
Calves  of  second  generation  contain  75  %  pure  blood. 
Calves  of  third  generation  contain  87.5%  pure  blood. 
Calves  of  fourth  generation  contain  93.75%  pure  blood. 
Calves  of  fifth  generation  contain  96.87%  pure  blood. 
Calves  of  sixth  generation  contain  98.43%  pure  blood. 

Therefore  it  will  be  seen  that  the  sixth  generation 
is  practically  99  per  cent  pure. 

It  might  be  stated  here  that  when  conditions  have 
been  favorable,  animals  of  the  fourth  generation  are 
hard  to  distinguish  from  absolutely  pure-bred  cattle. 
This  shows  that  a  pure  bred  sire  will  impress  the  traits 
of  his  breed  upon  his  offspring  within  four  generations, 
as  a  rule. 

It  is  only  from  pure-bred  sires  that  you  can  expect 
results  like  this. 

If  you  will  write  to  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  New 
York,  the  authorities  there  will  be  very  glad  to  send 
you  a  bulletin  giving  the  history,  care  and  feeding  of  a 
speciaf  herd  on  which  this  method  of  grading  up  the 
herd  was  used. 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  73 

Results  at  Cornell  have  been  similar  to  those  ex- 
perienced by  shrewd  dairymen  throughout  the  United 
States.  They  have  proven  that  a  good  dairy  cow 
should  produce  at  least  5,000  pounds  of  milk  and  over 
200  pounds  of  butterfat  every  year.  It  is  easy  to  un- 
derstand what  this  means  to  the  dairymen  when  it  is 
realized  that  the  average  in  the  United  States  is  less 
than  3,000  pounds  of  milk  per  cow. 

Make  use  of  the  Babcock  test.  It  is  a  simple  and 
cheap  and  an  infallible  way  of  learning  the  precise  val- 
ue of  your  cows.  It  shows  you  which  cow  shows  a 
profit  and  which  one  does  not.  It  helps  you  to  get 
rid  of  the  cows  that  are  not  profit  producers. 

Hints  on  Handling  Dairy  Cows. 

The  average  dairy  cow  is  as  nervous  as  the  pro- 
verbial cat.  The  more  highly  bred  the  cow,  the  more 
nervous  it  is  as  a  rule.  Rough  handling  will  always 
show  itself  in  the  decrease  in  milk  yield.  It  pays  to 
treat  your  dairy  cows  gently.  If  you  run  or  hurry 
them  or  allow  the  dogs  to  annoy  them,  or  the  hired 
hands  to  stone,  beat  or  kick  them,  you  will  pay  for  it 
in  decrease  in  milk  yield.  Keeping  your  cows  clean 
means  putting  dividends  into  your  own  pocket. 

Also  protect  your  cows  from  cold  winds  and  cold 
storms. 

Too  many  dairymen  do  not  realize  that  cows  must 
be  treated  individually.  No  two  cows  can  be  treated 
or  fed  exactly  the  same.  Do  not  forget  for  one  minute 
that  you  lose  in  profit  for  every  excitement,  worry, 
exposure,  abuse  or  neglect  your  cows  suffer. 

Perhaps  we  might  better  first  define  the  meaning  of 
nutritive  ration,  inasmuch  as  that  term  will  be  used 
frequently  in  these  instructions  on  proper  feeding. 


74      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

This  term  is  used  to  express  the  respective  amounts 
of  protein — the  muscle,  the  blood  and  milk-making 
parts  of  feed — and  what  are  known  as  carbohydrates 
and  fats,  which  are  the  heat  and  fat-producing  elements 
of  feed. 

Protein  is  the  name  given  to  the  group  of  food  ele- 
ments in  the  feed  that  contain  nitrogen.  The  protein 
in  the  feed  makes  lean  flesh,  blood,  tendons,  hair,  horn, 
wool,  and  casein  and  albumen  of  milk.  The  necessity 
for  the  feed  to  be  high  in  protein  value  is  that  this 
protein  actually  maintains  existence — makes  the  cattle 
grow — and  is  the  primal  cause  for  the  increase  in  milk 
yield. 

The  food  element  known  as  carbohydrates  goes  to 
make  up  either  fat,  or  heat  or  energy.  Coarse  fodders, 
such  as  marsh  hay,  prairie  hay,  timothy,  millet,  sor- 
ghum, fodder  corn,  stover  and  straw  as  well  as  clover 
or  alfalfa  hay  need  the  addition  of  some  concentrate 
with  a  high  protein  content  such  as  small  farm  grains. 

The  fats  include  the  wax  and  green  coloring  matter 
of  plants.  The  fat  element  of  the  ration  is  either 
stored  up  in  the  body  or  burned  to  furnish  heat  and 
energy  to  the  animal.  The  importance  of  making 
sure  that  the  feed  contains  the  proper  proportion  of 
fat  elements  can  be  readily  seen  when  it  is  shown  you 
that  as  a  heat  producer,  a  pound  of  fat  is  worth  as 
much  as  2.2  pounds  of  carbohydrates. 

A  little  study  on  the  part  of  the  dairyman  and 
farmer  will  soon  enable  him  to  provide  that  ration 
which  will  preserve  the  proper  nutritive  ratio. 

Experts  have  proven  that  the  most  economical  and 
the  best  ratio  for  dairy  crop  is  from  6.5  to  7.5  pounds 
digestible  carbohydrates  and  fats  to  one  pound  of 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  75 

protein.  There  will  be  a  shrinkage  either  in  milk  or 
body  weight  if  the  ratio  of  protein  to  carbohydrates 
and  fats  is  greater  than  that  prescribed  above.  More- 
over, feeds  high  in  protein  are  expensive. 

To  make  this  even  more  clear,  nutritive  ratio  is 
something  obtained  by  dividing  the  sum  of  the  digest- 
ible carbohydrates  and  fats  by  the  digestible  proteins. 

To  bring  this  point  closer  home,  we  will  point  out 
the  fact  that  there  are  two  pounds  of  carbohydrates 
to  one  pound  of  protein  in  separator  skimmed  milk. 
That  is,  there  is  twice  as  much  of  carbohydrates  and 
fats  as  there  is  of  protein.  Therefore,  the  nutritive 
ratio  is  expressed  this  way — skimmed  milk  1 : 2. 

In  order  that  you  may  know  exactly  the  nutritive 
ratios  of  each  one  of  the  fodders  usually  fed  to  your 
cows,  we  are  printing  herewith  a  table  that  is  official : 

Nutritive  Ratio 

Corn   Fodder    1 :  14.9 

Mixed  Grass  and  Clover 1 :     7.4 

Wheat  Bran   1 :     3.7 

Skimmed  Milk   1 :     2 

Corn    Silage    1:  14.3 

Gluten  Meal   1 :     2.5 

Corn  or  Cornmeal   1 :     9.7 

Mangles    1:     5.1 

Red  Clover  Hay   1 :     3.1 

Alfalfa   (green)    1:     3.1 

Alfalfa  (hay)    1 :     3.8 

So  that  you  will  not  be  confused  we  will  state  here 
that  the  figures  given  above  vary  slightly  from  those 
published  by  other  experimental  and  agricultural  uni- 
versities. However,  it  agrees  substantially  with  all 
those  published  by  the  best  authorities. 


76      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

A  point  to  be  brought  out  here  is,  that  you  will 
notice  that  some  foods  are  almost  perfectly  balanced 
insofar  as  nutritive  ratio  is  maintained. 

It  might  be  well  to  explain  this  point.  For  exam- 
ple, take  clover  hay  and  mangles.  The  ratio  of  these 
is  a  trifle  wider  than  1:5.  It  might  be  best  to  say 
here  that  neither  one  alone  is  a  perfect  feed.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  their  bulk  is  not  in  proper  pro- 
portion to  their  protein  and  nutrients.  The  cows  fed 
upon  clover  hay  would  have  swallowed  more  than 
enough  dry  matter  without  obtaining  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  nutrient.  And  again,  in  eating  thirty  pounds 
of  mangles,  the  cow  would  get  only  2.7  pounds  of  dry 
matter  and  at  the  same  time  less  than  a  half  pound 
of  protein. 

The  point  to  be  emphasized  here,  is  that  nutritive 
ratio  must  not  be  confused  with  a  completed  ration. 

The  purpose  of  these  instructions  in  regard  to  ra- 
tions is  that  we  desire  to  help  all  to  obtain  the  ideal 
ration  at  the  lowest  cost — to  help  you  see  to  it  that 
the  cows  get  a  sufficient  quantity  of  food,  containing 
the  correct  amount  of  digestible  nutrients,  together 
with  the  milk  forming  elements  in  their  proper  pro- 
portion to  the  heat  forming  elements. 

Balanced  Rations  for  Milch  Cows. 

The  trouble  with  the  usual  formula  for  balanced  ra- 
tions is  that  it  is  not  practical  for  most  farmers,  as 
they  may  not  have  the  desired  elements  on  hand. 
The  following  rations  are  made  up  of  different  mate- 
rials, so  as  to  conform  with  the  feed  that  you  may 
happen  to  have  on  your  farm.  Any  one  of  these  ra- 
tions is  equally  good.  The  number  of  pounds  stated 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd 


77 


in  each  ration  is  for  a  day's  feed  of  twenty-four  hours 
and  is  applicable  to  the  average  cow  weighing  from 
900  to  1,200  pounds  and  giving  from  3.6  to  4%  milk. 


2. 


3. 


4. 


5. 


6. 


Pounds 
Corn   silage    .........  35 

Hay    ................  8 

Wheat  bran   .........  4 

Ground   oats    ........  3 

Oil  meal    ...........  .  2 

52 

Corn  silage    .........  50 

Corn  stalks    .........  10 

Corn  meal    ..........  2 

Wheat  bran   .........  4 

Malt  sprouts    ........   3 

Oil  meal   ...........  .    1 

70 

Corn    silage     ........  20 

Corn    stalks     ........  10 

Hay    ................  4 

Wheat  bran   .........  4 

Gluten  meal  .........  3 

Corn  cob  meal  ......  3 

44 

Corn  silage    .........  40 

Clover,  timothy  hay..  10 
Wheat  shorts    .......  3 

Gluten  meal  .........  3 

Ground  oats  .  .  3 


Silage   ...............  40 

Clover    ..............  10 

Oat  feed   ............  4 

Corn  meal   ..........  3 

Gluten  meal  .........   3 


Silage     ..............  45 

Oat  straw    ..........   5 

Brewers'  grains    .....  4 

Corn  stalks    .........   5 

Wheat  shorts   ......  .  4 

~63 


Pounds 

7.  Corn    silage     35 

Hay    10 

Corn  meal    3 

Wheat  bran  4 

Ground  oats    3 

"55 

8.  Corn  silage 40 

Corn  stover   8 

Corn  meal   2 

Wheat  bran   4 

Oil  meal   ._2 

56 

9.  Corn    silage     20 

Clover,  timothy  hay..  15 

Corn  meal    3 

Ground  oats    3 

Oil  meal   2 

Cotton  seed  meal  . . . .   1 

~44 

10.  Clover  silage  25 

Corn  stover 10 

Hay  5 

Wheat  shorts  2 

Oats  feed  4 

Corn  meal  2 

Linseed  meal  1 

~49 

59  11.  Clover  silage  30 

Dry  fodder  10 

Oat  straw 4 

Wheat  bran  4 

Malt  sprouts  2 

Oil  meal 2 

52 

12.  Clover  silage 40 

Hay  10 

Roots  20 

Corn  meal 4 

Ground  oats  4 

Linseed  meal 1 

"69 


78      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

Formula  for  Stock  Foods. 

These  are  the  same  formulas  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  advertised  stock  foods  for  which  the  farmer 
pays  a  big  price : 

No.  1.  Lbs. 

Faenigreek     2 

Allspice     2 

Gentian     4 

Salt    5 

Saltpeter  5 

Epsom   salts    10 

Linseed   meal    100 

Feed  two  to  three  tablespoonfuls  to  feeding. 

No.  2.  Lbs. 

Gentian     8 

Ginger    8 

Faenigreek     8 

Powdered    sulphur    8 

Potassium  nitrate    2 

Rosin   2 

Cayenne  pepper  4 

Linseed  meal    44 

Powdered  charcoal  20 

Common  salt    10 

Wheat   bran    100 

Compound,  mix,  feed  one-half  cupful  to  feeding. 

Feeding  should  be  done  right  after  milking  time, 
in  which  case  feed  flavors  largely  pass  off  through 
channels  or  secretions  other  than  the  milk  and  are  not 
so  noticeable.  However,  most  dairymen  and  farmers 
understand  this,  and  there  is  very  little  milk  spoiled 
from  this  cause. 

The  feeding  of  dairy  cows  is  a  very  important  mat- 
ter. The  composition  of  feeds  is  an  interesting  sub- 
ject. Most  feeds  can  and  should  be  grown  on  the 
farm. 

The  idea  of  feeding  dairy  cows  simply  to  dispose 
of  crops  is  ruinous.  The  successful  idea  nowadays 
is  to  farm  to  feed  dairy  cows. 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  79 

The  Value  of  Silos  in  Solving  the  Ration  Problem. 

Various  experts  have  agreed  that  corn  silage  is 
probably  the  best  and  cheapest  source  of  succulence. 
There  should  be  a  silo  on  every  dairy  farm  which 
should  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  this  valu- 
able necessary  milk-making  food  during  the  winter 
and  the  dry  months  of  the  summer.  Corn,  oats  and 
barley  are  splendid  for  supplying  carbohydrates  and 
dry  matter  to  the  dairy  herd.  All  these  can  be  raised 
almost  anywhere.  So  can  clover,  alfalfa,  sweet  clover, 
vetches,  cow  peas,  soy  beans  and  Canada  field  peas. 
Each  of  these  crops  are  rich  in  protein  and  ash.  If 
you  will  feed  hay,  made  from  any  of  these  leguminous 
crops,  together  with  all  the  corn  silage  that  the  cow 
will  eat  you  will  find  that  it  will  form  a  balanced  ration 
that  will  be  succulent  and  also  that  the  carbohydrates 
and  fats  in  the  corn  silage  will  be  balanced  by  the  pro- 
tein and  dry  matter  in  the  hay.  This  will  form  a 
splendid  ration  for  cows  giving,  say,  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  pounds  of  milk  per  day. 

If  you  are  living  in  the  corn  belt,  you  will  find  that 
ground  corn  and  cornmeal  is  a  splendid  and  a  cheap 
concentrated  food.  This  should,  in  your  case,  form 
the  basis  of  the  ration.  Such  a  ration  supplies  every- 
thing necessary  except  the  protein,  ash  and  the  neces- 
sary variety.  It  would  be  well,  however,  to  add  such 
additional  rations  as  ground  oats,  bran,  oil  meal,  dried 
distillers5  grains,  gluten  feed  or  some  other  food  rich 
in  gluten. 

Another  very  well  balanced  ration,  when  fed  in  con- 
junction with  an  abundance  of  corn  silage,  together 
with  any  of  the  leguminous  hays,  is  a  mixture  of  two 
parts  of  ground  corn,  one  part  ground  oats  and  one 


80      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

part  of  either  one  of  the  commercial  by-product  pro- 
tein foods. 

The  above  rations  should  be  supplied  to  each  cow 
at  the  rate  of  one  pound  each  day  to  every  pound  of 
butterfat  that  that  cow  yields  each  week. 

This  is  a  very  inexpensive  ration.  Furthermore  it 
gives  the  cow  exactly  what  she  needs  to  make  the1 
most  milk,  and  the  greatest  percentage  of  butterfat. 

Right  in  this  connection  we  might  say  that  there 
is  one  special  time  that  is  best  of  all  for  starting  the 
bettering  of  the  feeding  methods  of  the  dairy  herd. 
This  time  is  about  four  to  six  weeks  before  the  cow  is 
due  to  freshen.  At  that  time  it  is  best  to  turn  the 
cow  dry  and  then  feed  her  abundantly.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  at  this  time  that  the  greatest  profits 
are  returned  for  the  feed  used  in  preparing  the  cow 
for  the  work  that  is  to  come.  It  is  best  that'  the  cow 
be  as  high  as  possible  in  flesh  at  the  time  she  freshens. 
Otherwise  too  great  a  percentage  of  her  food  will  be 
consumed  in  maintaining  her,  building  up  her  flesh, 
strengthening  her  stamina — and  not  making  milk,  as 
it  should. 

It  is  at  this  time  that  the  cow  that  has  been  well  fed 
with  corn  silage  and  roughage  that  is  high  in  protein 
together  with  a  carefully  balanced  grain  ration  yields 
the  biggest  profit  to  the  dairyman.  It  is  then  that  he 
begins  to  pocket  the  dividends  that  he  has  earned  by 
his  careful  handling  of  the  cow  in  her  dry  period. 

Aside  from  the  fact  that  corn  silage  proves  one  of 
the  best  rations  for  milk  cows,  it  is  also  one  of  the 
cheapest. 

Wherever  farmers  have  tried   out  this  method  of 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  81 

feeding  the  dairy  herd,  the  economy  has  been  at  once 
evident. 

The  writer  has  before  him  at  the  present  time  one 
specific  instance  of  this  character.  This  is  the  boiled- 
down  experience  of  a  farmer  in  a  middle  western  state 
who  has  tried  out  the  silage  ration  system  very  thor- 
oughly and  has  found  it  wonderfully  profitable.  This 
man  built  a  concrete  silo  sixty  feet  in  diameter  and 
forty  feet  in  height.  This  silo  was  filled  four  times 
from  ten  acres  of  drill  corn  and  cow  peas.  Some  com- 
parison of  the  value  of  this  ten  acres  of  silo  corn  will 
be  of  interest.  The  200  tons  of  silage  thus  obtained 
was  equivalent  to  70  tons  of  timothy  hay,  which,  at 
$8  a  ton,  would  be  worth  $560.  This  would  make  his 
silage  worth  $56  an  acre.  At  one  and  one-half  tons 
to  the  acre — a  large  crop  for  the  state  in  which  this 
test  was  made — it  would  have  required  forty-five  acres 
to  grow  the  hay  thus  secured  by  the  silage  method. 
To  figure  it  in  another  way,  this  ten  acres  of  silage 
was  the  nutrient  equivalent  of  1,420  bushels  of  corn. 
These  at  sixty  cents  a  bushel  would  be  equal  to  the 
value  of  $850,  or  $85  an  acre.  It  would  have  required 
thirty-five  acres  of  ground  to  produce  the  same  amount 
at  forty  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Then  again,  this  silage  crop  equaled  in  value  fifty- 
eight  tons  of  bran.  As  values  are  now,  this  would  be 
equal  to  $1,400,  or  $140  for  each  acre. 

And  to  figure  it  another  way,  these  ten  acres  of 
silage  are  equal  to  forty-five  tons  of  cottonseed  meal. 
Cottonseed  meal  at  $30  per  ton  would  equal  $1,450, 
or  a  valuation  of  $145  an  acre  for  the  silage. 

The  value  of  silage  to  the  dairy  farmer  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  Silage  stores  well.  It  will  keep 


82      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

with  less  waste  than  corn  or  oats  in  the  crib  or  hay  in 
the  stack,  if  it  is  properly  housed.  It  also  keeps  longer. 
Furthermore,  it  is  harvested  when  corn  has  reached 
the  most  development.  It  is  harvested  when  nature 
can  put  no  more  into  it.  It  is  put  away  in  its  own 
juice,  when  it  is  so  soft  that  even  the  cob  can  be  thor- 
oughly masticated  and  thus  digested. 

It  is  a  notable  fact  that  the  cows  eat  silo  food  eagerly. 

Furthermore,  silage  corresponds  more  closely  to  the 
nature  of  the  cow  itself.  It  is  a  bulk  feed.  The  cows' 
stomachs  are  made  for  grass.  And  what  is  the  corn 
plant  but  a  great  big  grass?  When  it  is  cut  up  fine 
for  her  in  the  form  of  silage,  it  makes  the  cow's  winter 
ration  more  like  her  summer  grass. 

Whereas  concentrated,  condensed  feeds  contract  the 
stomach  and  bring  about  a  radical  readjustment  in 
the  internal  cow,  silage  feed  meets  the  requirements 
of  nature  itself.  Moreover,  concentrated  feed  can  be 
fed  with  great  advantage  when  mixed  with  the  bulkier 
silage.  Remember,  there  is  absolutely  no  waste  in 
feeding  silage. 

Again,  there  is  no  waste  in  harvesting  silage,  be- 
cause the  stalks,  the  blades,  the  grain,  the  cobs,  the  tas- 
sels, are  all  utilized.  It  forms  the  best  solution  of 
the  feeding  problem  during  the  droughts  and  the  short 
pasture  periods  of  summer. 

The  farmer  who  has  a  few  acres  of  corn  in  his  silo 
is  safeguarded  against  drought. 

Right  in  this  connection  the  writer  might  state  that 
from  the  ten  acres  of  silo  corn,  above  referred  to,  the 
dairyman  fed,  from  the  first  of  November  until  the 
grass  came,  thirty  cows  and  fifteen  head  of  fall  calves. 
And  from  the  first  of  March,  twenty  head  of  year- 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  83 

lings,  and  after  all  that,  when  grass  came,  this  farmer 
still  had  four  feet  of  silage  left. 

If  you  will  write  to  the  University  of  Illinois  Agri- 
cultural College,  at  Urbana,  and  ask  for  Bulletin  No. 
101,  you  will  receive  free  of  charge  a  valuable  and 
instructive  bulletin  on  "Crops  for  the  Silo  and  Cost 
of  Silo  Filling."  They  will  also  be  very  glad  to  send 
you  a  very  comprehensive  bulletin  covering  the  main 
facts  to  be  considered  in  building  a  silo.  This  is 
known  as  Bulletin  No.  102. 

Care  of  the  Cows. 

There  was  a  time,  not  so  many  years  ago  either, 
when  the  farmer  or  dairyman  who  cleaned  his  cows 
was  considered  over-cleanly,  to  say  the  least.  Even 
now  there  are  a  great  many  people  who  never  clean 
their  cows  either  before  or  after  milking,  or  any  other 
time. 

But  the  up-to-date  farmers  and  dairymen,  the  ones 
who  are  making  the  most  money  out  of  their  herds, 
take  just  as  good  care  of  their  cows  as  they  do  of 
their  horses. 

Saw  off  the  handle  of  an  old  broom  part  way  down 
and  brush  thoroughly  with  that  if  you  don't  have  time 
to  use  a  currycomb  and  brush.  You  can  do  a  fairly 
good  job  with  the  short  broom  if  it  is  followed  up 
with  a  rag  rubbing  to  pick  up  the  loose  dust.  In  any 
event,  don't  fail  to  use  a  damp  cloth  to  wipe  off  the 
back  of  the  cow,  including  the  udder.  If  this  is  not 
done,  some  of  the  dirt  from  the  cow  is  bound  to  get 
into  the  milk  pail  and  that  is  what  you  want  to  avoid. 

Just  remember  if  dirt  gets  into  the  milk  it  is  bound 
to  leave  its  flavor  there  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent, 


84      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

depending  on  how  much  gets  in.     If  the  milk  is  fla- 
vored, the  butter  will  be  also. 

Dirt  and  barn  odors  which  get  into  the  milk  at 
milking  time  are  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  poor  butter ; 
therefore  do  all  you  can  to  avoid  them. 

Care  of  the  Stable. 

In  order  to  make  the  best  butter  you  must  start 
with  the  stable  itself.  This  should  be  kept  as  clean 
as  possible  at  all  times,  and  particular  care  taken  to 
clean  it  and  bed  down  the  stalls  half  an  hour  or  more 
before  milking  time.  If  possible  the  bedding  should 
be  sprinkled  with  water  to  lay  the  dust.  It  will  not  be 
necessary  to  make  it  wet;  just  a  slight  sprinkling  will 
be  sufficient. 

When  cows  are  kept  in  crowded  and  unclean  stables 
with  but  little  fresh  air,  sanitary  milk  cannot  be  ex- 
pected. 

When  kept  under  unsanitary  conditions  for  any 
length  of  time  the  animals  become  unhealthy,  and  even 
where  they  themselves  are  not  diseased,  the  milk  as 
soon  as  drawn  absorbs  the  unclean  atmosphere  of  the 
stable,  which  readily  spoils  it  for  either  domestic  or 
commercial  purposes. 

The  liquid  and  solid  excrements  of  the  stable  are 
teeming  with  various  fermentive  bodies.  The  air  is 
rilled  with  dust  particles  which  contain  ferment  and 
fermentable  substances,  and  as  soon  as  the  milk  is 
drawn  it  is  contaminated. 

In  order  to  keep  the  stable  in  a  wholesome  condi- 
tion, a  liberal  amount  of  bedding  and  absorbents 
should  be  used.  In  localities  where  straw  cannot  be 
obtained,  sawdust,  shavings,  peat  and  other  materials 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  85 

are  employed.  In  addition,  a  small  amount  of  land 
plaster  or  gypsum  will  be  found  valuable  for  deodor- 
izing the  stable. 

Gypsum  can  be  used  at  the  rate  of  about  half  a  pound 
per  day  for  each  animal,  and  is  sprinkled  in  the  stalls 
and  trenches. 

Lime  in  any  other  form  than  the  sulphate  is  not  suit- 
able for  use  in  stables.  Instead  of  absorbing  the  odors, 
quick  lime  and  slacked  lime  decompose  the  refuse  ma- 
terials, producing  more  odors.  Lime  sulphate  or  land 
plaster  can  usually  be  procured  at  about  $5  a  ton,  and 
is,  in  addition  to  the  deodorizing  properties,  a  valuable 
fertilizer.  When  added  to  the  manure,  it  increases  its 
value  by  preventing  unnecessary  fermentation  and  loss 
of  ammonia. 

A  cow  is  nothing  but  a  very  peculiar  factory  into 
which  is  taken  the  raw  stuffs  and  from  which  she  turns 
a  highly  finished  product.  Everything  she  needs  to 
make  the  most  output  is  an  important  cog  in  the  wheel 
and  if  omitted  she  fails  to  do  perfect  work.  Don't 
forget  this.  She  must  have  every  comfort.  She  must 
not  be  exposed. 

The  average  cow  quarters  on  the  general  farm  are 
too  small  and  poorly  lighted  to  be  comfortable  for 
cows  that  are  expected  to  make  a  profit.  The  idea 
that  anything  will  do  to  shelter  cows  during  bad 
weather  is  wrong.  Neither  will  anything  in  the  way 
of  night  stabling  do  during  the  brisk  nights  of  late 
fall  and  early  spring.  While  it  is  advantageous  to 
keep  cows  up  during  inclement  weather  and  feed  in 
the  stanchion  or  stall,  it  is  not  a  good  plan  to  pamper 
them  in  weather  when  sunshine  and  air  will  do  them 
good. 


86      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

Health  above  all  things  should  be  perfect  in  a  dairy 
cow. 

Ventilation  of  Dairy  Barns. 

In  ventilating  dairy  barns  a  great  many  things  must 
be  taken  into  consideration ;  location  of  barn,  the  gen- 
eral surroundings,  height  of  barn,  the  number  of  cows, 
etc.  The  sizes  of  intakes  and  outlets  depend  on  vari- 
ous conditions.  No  ventilation  will  work  automati- 
cally and  it  requires  good  judgment  along  with  proper 
equipment  to  make  ventilation  proper  and  effective. 
The  temperature  of  the  dairy  barn  should  be  60°  to  65°, 
therefore  when  the  weather  is  very  cold  it  takes  but 
little  air  circulation  to  maintain  good  ventilation  and 
still  retain  the  proper  heat.  There  are  people  who 
have  made  a  study  of  ventilation  for  years  but  still 
come  far  from  the  demands  of  the  perfectly  ventilated 
dairy  barn.  All  barns  should  be  equipped  with  some 
kind  of  ventilation.  The  placing  of  canvas  over  the 
top  of  windows  and  a  heavy  strip  of  canvas  on  the  bot- 
tom of  the  same  window,  will  help  to  ventilate  as  the 
foul  air  will  pass  off  through  the  canvas  at  the  top  and 
the  fresh  air  will  pass  through  the  bottom.  The  can- 
vas will  break  the  wind  which  causes  the  draught. 
When  too  much  air  is  let  in  and  taken  out  of  the  dairy 
barn  in  cold  weather  it  causes  the  heat  from  the  cow 
to  congeal  and  the  walls  become  damp  and  drops  of 
water  form  on  the  sides  and  ceiling.  When  installing 
galvanized  pipes  in  barns  for  intakes  and  outlets,  great 
care  should  be  taken  so  these  can  be  closed  off  or  partly 
closed  when  conditions  require  it,  and  also  installed 
where  they  will  not  come  in  contact  with  cold,  as  the 
damp  air  passing  through  will  freeze  and  cause  trouble. 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  87 

It  is  useless  to  try  and  ventilate  a  poorly  built,  cold 
barn.  It  is  impossible  to  ventilate  to  any  satisfaction 
without  a  certain  degree  of  heat.  There  are  companies 
who  make  a  specialty  of  ventilation.  They  publish 
books  that  are  useful  and  instructive  to  anyone  who 
may  desire  this  information.  The  King  system  is 
recognized  as  being  the  best  and  most  efficient. 

Proper  Treatment  for  Cow  Consumption  or  Tuber- 
culosis. 

The  seriousness  of  this  plague  can  be  best  under- 
stood when  it  is  explained  that  it  causes  the  loss  of 
$15,000,000  yearly  to  dairymen  and  that  today  ten 
per  cent  of  dairy  stock  is  infected.  It  might  be  well 
to  here  state  that  the  chief  source  of  the  spread  of  the 
disease  is  the  buying  and  selling  of  cattle  already 
infected. 

However,  it  is  not  our  purpose  here  to  dilate  upon 
the  spread  of  this  disease,  but  rather  to  suggest  means 
that  have  been  found  effective  in  protecting  the  cattle 
not  already  infected. 

Dr.  A.  S.  Alexander,  professor  of  veterinary  science, 
University  of  Wisconsin,  advises  all  dairymen  to  use 
only  healthy  sires  and  dams  in  stock  breeding.  He 
advises  each  dairyman  to  allow  each  cow  or  bull  not 
less  than  600  to  800  feet  of  air  space  and  not  less  than 
•four  square  feet  of  window  glass  lighting  space  in 
the  stable.  This  stable  must  be  perfectly  ventilated. 
The  stable  must  be  cleaned  daily  and  manure  hauled 
away  each  day.  By  this  you  prevent  germs,  obnoxious 
gases  and  flies.  The  drinking  water  provided  must  be 
pure  and  uncontaminated.  Care  in  food  and  regularity 
in  feeding  must  be  exercised.  Milking  must  be  done 
in  regular  hours  and  must  be  absolutely  sanitary. 


88       How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

The  first  step  in  prevention  is  to  quarantine  all 
newly  bought  animals  until  they  are  proven  to  be  abso- 
lutely sound  and  free  from  any  symptoms  of  tuber- 
culosis. The  tuberculin  test  will  ascertain  this  fact. 
We  advise  you  to  write  to  your  state  agricultural  col- 
lege and  get  its  advice  on  this  subject. 

In  addition  to  testing  the  newly  bought  cattle  it  is 
wise  to  test  the  entire  herd  once  or  twice  each  year, 
and  if  any  animal  is  found  infected  that  animal  should 
be  isolated.  One  wise  precaution  is  never  to  use  the 
neighbor's  cows.  Experts  advise  the  free  use  of  dis- 
infectants. Use  them  often  in  the  gutters  and  on  the 
stall  floors.  It  is  also  wise  to  whitewash  the  stable 
at  least  twice  a  year. 

In  the  case  of  feeding  calves  or  hogs,  it  is  best  to 
sterilize  all  milk  before  feeding,  unless  you  absolutely 
know  that  it  comes  from  cattle  that  are  free  from  this 
disease.  Milk  can  be  easily  sterilized  by  simply  heat- 
ing it  to  190  degrees  Fahrenheit.  It  is  never  safe  to 
feed  skimmed  milk  from  a  creamery.  Feed  your  own 
skimmed  milk  before  it  ever  leaves  the  farm. 

Here  are  some  of  the  symptoms  by  which  you  can 
detect  tuberculosis: 

Tuberculosis  germs  affect  the  lymph  glands  and 
cause  the  appearance  of  small  or  large  tubercles,  which 
contain  pus,  gray  substance  or  cheesy  or  gritty  ma- 
terial. 

One  of  the  first  symptoms  is  a  cough.  Noisy  breath- 
ing and  cough  quite  frequently  denote  tuberculosis 
that  is  affecting  and  enlarging  the  glands  of  the  throat. 
Tuberculosis  may  affect  the  bones,  joints,  muscles  or 
skin.  One  of  the  effects  of  tuberculosis  is  pressure 


Managing  the  Dairy  Herd  89 

upon  the  gullet,  which  will  give  rise  to  chronic  bloat- 
ing. 

The  most  common  seat  of  this  disease  is  the  udder. 
Animals  affected  with  tuberculosis  gradually  pine 
away,  that  is,  if  they  are  suffering  from  what  is  known 
as  acute  or  open  tuberculosis.  They  may  live  in- 
definitely if  afflicted  with  sub-acute  or  closed  tuber- 
culosis. 

If  you  have  any  doubts  about  your  own  cattle,  it 
will  be  best  to  write  to  your  state  agricultural  college. 
They  will  be  able  to  help  you  to  relieve  the  cause  and 
to  cure  and  prevent  the  spread  of  this  disease.  They 
will  also  be  able  to  post  you  on  the  proper  methods  of 
stable  ventilation.  In  this  connection  we  might  sug- 
gest that  you  write  to  the  University  of  Wisconsin 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  and  ask  for  Bulletin 
No.  23  on  "Bovine  Tuberculosis." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  Plan  that  will  Add  $13  to  $24  to  Your 
Profits  from  Each  Cow  Each  Year 

THE  milk  that  your  cows  yield  should  put  two 
different  and  distinct  profits  into  your  pocket. 
One  is  the  profit  that  you  will  obtain  from 
the  butter  made  in  your  Minnetonna  Home  Creamery. 
The  other  is  derived  from  feeding  the  skim  milk  to  the 
calves,  and  the  buttermilk  to  the  pigs. 

You  lose  money  if  you  let  your  calves  have  the  whole 
milk.  For  by  doing  so  you  cheat  yourself  out  of  the 
butterfat.  That  butterfat  does  nothing  other  than 
make  the  calves  warmer  and  fatter.  It  does  not  make 
them  grow. 

You  can  use  cornmeal,  oil  meal  or  flaxseed  meal  and 
either  one  of  the  three  will  furnish  the  calves  with 
heat  and  fat  just  as  well  as  the  butterfat,  and  either 
will  cost  you  but  little  more  than  one  cent  per  pound. 

Why  should  you  feed  the  calves  whole  milk  con- 
taining thirty-cent  butterfat  when  your  neighbors  are 
raising  just  as  good  calves  on  skim  milk  and  one- 
cent  meal? 

Skim  milk  possesses  all  the  food  elements  necessary 
to  make  bone,  blood,  muscle,  nerves,  hair,  skin,  teeth, 
hoofs  and  horns.  All  that  skim  milk  lacks  is  fat,  and 
a  calf  raised  on  skim  milk  plus  meal  gets  the  neces- 
sary heat  and  fat-making  elements  from  the  meal. 

90 


A  Plan  That  Will  Add  to  Your  Profits          91 

This  is  not  theory. 

The  experiment  station  of  one  of  our  largest  state 
agricultural  universities  found,  after  exhaustive  ex- 
periments, that  calves  that  were  fed  on  skim  milk 
plus  meal,  actually  showed  an  increase  in  weight  on 
the  nominal  cost  of  two  and  one-half  cents  per  pound. 
At  the  same  time  experiments  were  made  upon  calves 
fed  upon  whole  milk  and  it  was  discovered  that  the 
cost  per  pound  of  gain  was  seven  cents ! 

The  average  calf  weighs  eighty  pounds  at  birth. 
As  a  rule  it  is  vealed  at  an  age  of  six  weeks.  The 
average  weight  at  that  time  is  175  pounds.  This 
shows  a  gain  of  ninety-five  pounds. 

If  calves  are  fed  on  skim  milk  plus  meal  that  ninety- 
five  pounds  gain  is  made  at  a  cost  of  only  two  and 
one-quarter  cents  per  pound  or  a  total  of  less  than 
$2.14  per  calf. 

Raise  the  calf  on  whole  milk  and  this  ninety-five 
pounds  gain  will  cost  you  at  least  seven  cents  per 
pound;  that  is  a  total  of  $6.65  per  calf. 

Why  not  pocket  this  difference  of  $4.51? 

By  the  foregoing  we  do  not  want  you  to  get  the  im- 
pression that  we  do  not  advocate  the  policy  of  the  calf 
receiving  whole  or  part  whole  milk  for  the  first  few 
days. 

This  does  not  reduce  the  profit  the  dairyman  re- 
ceives from  that  cow,  because  the  milk  for  the  first 
two  or  three  or  four  days  from  a  fresh  cow  is  not  suit- 
able for  human  use,  anyway,  and  must  be  fed  to  calves 
or  hogs  in  any  event.  At  this  period  the  calves  thrive 
nicely  on  as  little  as  ninety  pounds  of  whole  milk. 

Feed  the  calves  the  skimmed  milk  while  it  is  still 
warm  from  the  cow.  In  this  way  the  best  results  will 


92      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

be  realized.  This  is  one  reason  why  skimmed  milk 
brought  back  from  the  creamery  is  not  satisfactory. 
It  is  then  cold  and  naturally  sour.  It  is  also  apt  to 
be  mixed  with  rinse  water  and  also  contaminated  with 
germs  of  various  diseases  from  the  milk  of  other  herds. 
Here  we  have  another  argument  why  you  should  make 
your  butter  at  home. 

It  might  be  well  in  this  connection  to  quote  from 
an  authority  on  this  subject  of  giving  milk  to  calves. 
Our  authority  in  this  instance  is  the  Wisconsin  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station,  located  at  Madison.  In 
its  Bulletin  No.  192,  which  you  may  obtain  free  by 
writing  to  the  Experiment  Station,  it  is  claimed: 
"When  a  calf  is  weaned  from  its  mother,  let  it  go  eight- 
een to  twenty-four  hours  without  milk  in  order  to 
have  it  hungry  for  its  first  meal  from  the  pail.  The 
feeder  should  realize  that  instinct  compels  the  calf  to 
look  up  for  its  feed  and  he  must  change  this  by  teach- 
ing the  calf  to  look  down.  Some  calves  are  taught  to 
drink  from  the  pails  at  the  first  trial  with  little  or  no 
sucking  of  the  finger.  Others  will  require  much  more 
persistent  effort,  and  considerable  patience  and  com- 
mon sense  are  required.  The  calf  will  respond  to 
kindness,  although  stubborn  at  first,  and  the  feeder 
who  will  put  himself  in  sympathy  with  calf  nature 
will  find  that  the  stubbornness  of  the  calf  may  soon  be 
overcome.  In  regard  to  the  amount  of  milk  fed,  the 
normal  calf  should  be  given  about  four  pounds — two 
quarts — of  whole  milk  three  times  each  day,  sweet  and 
at  blood  temperature." 

The  following  record  has  been  successfully  used  as 
a  guide : 


A  Plan  That  Will  Add  to  Your  Profits          93 

"For  the  first  100  pounds  of  live  weight  ten  pounds 
of  skimmed  milk  each  day. 

"For  the  second  100  pounds  of  live  weight,  five 
pounds  of  skimmed  milk  per  day. 

"For  the  third  100  pounds  of  live  weight  two  and 
one-half  pounds  of  skimmed  milk  per  day. 

"You  should  use  your  own  discretion  as  to  how 
long  to  feed  whole  milk,  but  do  not  continue  it  longer 
than  necessary.  Change  the  calf  to  skimmed  milk 
very  gradually.  A  wise  plan  is  to  first  substitute  one 
pint  of  skimmed  milk  for  one  pint  of  whole  milk  and 
gradually  decrease  the  whole  milk  and  increase  the 
skimmed  milk  until  the  calf  is  getting  all  skimmed 
milk.  Be  sure  that  the  skimmed  milk  is  always  sweet 
and  always  clean  and  always  at  body  heat/' 

We  again  quote  from  Bulletin  No.  192: 

"A  calf  weighing  eighty  pounds  would  be  fed  ac- 
cording to  this  plan  eight  and  one-half  pounds — one 
gallon — of  skimmed  milk  per  day ;  a  calf  weighing  300 
pounds  will  be  getting  a  little  over  seventeen  pounds — 
two  gallons — per  day.  If  skimmed  milk  is  available  it 
can  be  fed  profitably  to  the  dairy  calf  six  to  eight 
months  or  even  a  year." 

When  you  change  the  calves  to  skimmed  milk  they 
must  be  given  some  substitute  for  butterfat.  Ground 
flaxseed  made  into  a  jelly  and  fed  with  the  milk  is 
soothing  and  makes  an  excellent  substitute  for  the 
butterfat  until  the  calf  is  three  or  four  weeks  old.  At 
that  time  it  should  be  able  to  eat  ordinary  farm  grains. 
Corn  and  oats  then  given  in  sufficient  quantities  will 
prove  an  excellent  substitute  for  butterfat.  Again 
we  have  found  that  calves  will  quite  frequently  learn 
to  eat  the  grain  more  readily  if  a  little  bran  is  intro- 


94      How  to  Make  Creamery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

duced  into  the  ration.  You  can  easily  teach  the  calf 
to  eat  grain  by  rubbing  a  little  of  it  on  his  nose  when 
it  is  through  drinking  milk.  It  will  quickly  learn  to 
eat  from  the  feed  box  if  this  method  is  employed. 
When  the  calf  is  fed  skimmed  milk  there  is  little 
danger  of  its  eating  too  much  grain.  In  this  con- 
nection it  must  be  remembered  young  calves  show 
greater  gain  where  grain  is  consumed  than  the  older 
calves.  This  is  an  additional  reason  for  giving  them 
all  they  can  eat.  It  is  a  mistake  to  limit  the  grain 
ration,  because  this  means  a  loss  in  gain  and  a  loss  in 
profit.  The  calf  from  four  to  six  weeks  old  is  pos- 
sessed of  a  good  set  of  grinder  teeth  and  is  able  to 
obtain  excellent  results  with  a  grain  ration  at  that 
time. 

We  know  a  number  of  breeders  who  have  obtained 
splendid  results  by  feeding  calves  on  whole  oats. 
When  fed  shelled  corn  or  corn  cobs,  calves  seem  to  do 
better  and  are  less  subject  to  scours. 

It  is  best  to  grind  grain  that  is  small  and  hard. 
A  mixture  of  two  or  three  grains  rather  than  just  one 
grain  is  best  whenever  it  is  possible.  Do  not  mix 
the  grain  with  the  milk.  This  is  because  the  calf 
should  properly  masticate  the  food.  The  calf  should 
chew  it  well  and  not  gulp  it  down,  for  the  starchy 
matter  of  the  feed  is  acted  upon  by  the  saliva.  Many 
who  have  taken  this  precaution  tell  us  that  it  prevents 
scours. 

When  calves  are  two  or  three  weeks  of  age  they 
will  eat  roughage.  At  that  time  they  will  consume 
about  the  same  quantity  of  roughage  that  they  will 
of  grain. 

A  warning  to  be  given  here  is  that  against  sud- 


A  Plan  That  Will  '-Add  to . .?  wt  'Fro fas       •   95 

den  changes  in  feeding.  Such  changes  are  sometimes 
dangerous. 

Give  the  calves  all  the  good,  clean  water  they  can 
consume,  but  do  not  mix  it  with  the  milk  when  feed- 
ing the  calves. 

Be  sure  to  feed  calves  the  same  time  each  day  with 
the  same  quantity  and  the  same  quality  of  milk.  This 
helps  to  maintain  a  healthy  condition.  Be  warned 
against  overfeeding  on  milk,  also  the  feeding  of  milk 
that  is  either  cold  or  sour  or  the  feeding  of  milk  sweet 
one  meal  and  then  sour  the  next.  Feeding  of  this 
sort  is  frequently  the  cause  of  scours. 

Calves  should  be  provided  with  a  dry  pen.  The 
pen  should  be  warm  and  well  ventilated  in  winter  and 
also  cool  in  summer.  The  calf  is  very  sensitive  to  its 
environment  and  the  dairyman  who  pays  attention  to 
the  calves'  environment  will  find  it  an  extremely  prof- 
itable precaution. 

At  the  first  sign  of  scours,  cut  down  the  supply  of 
milk.  You  should  also  dose  the  calf  with  a  couple  of 
teaspoonfuls  of  castor  oil  in  scalded  milk.  If  the  scours 
persist  it  might  be  well  to  try  the  use  of  sterilized 
dried  blood  or  blood  meal.  Mild  cases  of  scours  are 
usually  cured  in  one  or  two  days  by  simply  reducing 
the  regular  feed  of  milk  and  giving  each  calf  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  dried  blood  at  each  meal.  If  the  scours 
prove  chronic  you  should  give  each  calf  a  tablespoon- 
ful  of  dried  blood  at  each  meal.  Always  mix  the  dried 
blood  or  meal  with  the  milk  at  the  time  of  feeding. 

How  to  Estimate  Weight  of  Cattle. 

To  estimate  the  weight  of  live  cattle  or  carcasses 
undressed.  First  measure  in  inches  the  eirth  behind 


96    -..hew  t'j  Mak*  Cwjwery  Butter  on  the  Farm 

the  shoulders.  Next  the  length  from  the  front  part 
or  front  of  the  shoulder  blade  along  the  back  to  the 
bone  at  the  tail  in  a  vertical  line  with  the  buttocks. 
Multiply  the  girth  in  inches  by  the  length  in  inches 
and  divide  this  product  by  144.  This  will  give  the 
number  of  superficial  feet. 

If  the  girth  of  the  animal  is  from  3  to  5  feet  multi- 
ply the  number  of  superficial  feet  by  16;  the  result 
will  be  the  animal's  weight.  If  the  girth  is  from  5  to  7 
feet,  multiply  by  23;  if  from  7  to  9  feet,  multiply  by 
31.  If  less  than  3  feet,  as  in  case  of  calves,  multiply 
by  11.  Of  course  individual  animals  will  vary  slight- 
ly but  this  will  give  approximate  results.  Or  for  a 
short  method,  multiply  the  square  of  the  animal's 
girth  by  17.5  which  will  give  the  weight  of  the  animal 
within  a  few  pounds. 


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